Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continues to say he will try to gain the public's understanding on the government's controversial security legislation, but there are few signs that he is winning anyone over.

The massive demonstration held in front of the Diet on Aug. 30 is a sign of the times, drawing tens of thousands of Japanese from all generations and spanning the often-divided liberal spectrum. Demonstrators loudly denounced Abe as a threat to peace and the Constitution, while some signs depicted him as a warmongering fascist tyrant and puppet of Uncle Sam.

Although "NHK News 7" declared it to be Tokyo's largest ever demonstration, the program devoted far more time to an investigation into faulty plastic stools.