Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be taking a big risk if he pushes through a dramatic change in security policy despite objections from most citizens, who want a better explanation for why the change is needed, a top opposition figure has said.
Abe's ratings have slipped over the security policy shift, which could let Japanese troops fight abroad for the first time since Japan's defeat in World War II, and which he hopes to enact into law in the current Diet session, which has been extended until Sept. 27.
The ruling bloc has a majority that would allow it to enact Abe's bills. But any perception of high-handedness could erode support further even as the prime minister eyes re-election as head of his Liberal Democratic Party in September.