Stage set for military shift

Parliament's upper house expected to pass bills ending ban on collective self-defense

In theory, Japan and its allies could begin making plans for any possible overseas conflict after the expected enactment of defense legislation this week, but it is considered unlikely that Japan would send troops to back US-led operations against the Islamic State group.

This scenario shows how far Japan will have come in loosening the constraints of its pacifist Constitution on its military, and how far it will remain from being a "normal nation", unconstrained in overseas military operations by legal limits and a deeply rooted public anti-war mindset.