A year after Japan enacted legislation that lets it play a more muscular role in global security, the Self-Defense Forces are now in training for potential new missions.
Adequate training and government accountability over the changes seem to be key for implementing the legislation, as concerns linger among the public that troops could be drawn into combat despite the Constitution remaining pacifist.
"We've created a system ... and we need the Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces to put it into practice," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told troops on Sept. 12.