A former Imperial Japanese Army soldier has voiced opposition to the government's move to allow Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense.

"As someone who went to war, I don't welcome it. War is no picnic," Kiyosaku Kudo, 90, said.

Born and raised in Hiranai, Aomori Prefecture, Kudo joined the army at 19 in February 1945. Before departing from the local train station, he was told by the principal of the vocational school he graduated from that Japan would achieve a great victory in World War II because his given name Kiyosaku meant to "create a happy era."