The Lower House passed an antipiracy bill Thursday to create a permanent law enabling the Maritime Self-Defense Force to protect ships of any nationality against pirates, amid strong protests from opposition parties.
The bill passed with the majority vote of the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc and was immediately sent to the opposition-controlled Upper House for further deliberation.
Even though the upper chamber is expected to reject the bill, the ruling bloc is still on course to enact the legislation during the current Diet session, which ends June 3, by ramming the legislation through with a second vote in the more powerful Lower House.