Japan marked the 70th anniversary of its surrender in World War II on Saturday, with the Imperial Couple, prime minister and about 5,000 relatives of the war dead set to attend a ceremony later in the day to mourn the fallen.
This year's commemoration comes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration seeks to pass security bills to bring about a landmark shift in Japan's defense posture.
The bills, now under Diet deliberation, would allow Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense, or coming to the aid of the United States or other friendly nations under armed attack even if Japan itself is not attacked. If enacted, the legislation would be a major shift in Japan's post-World War II exclusively defense-oriented security policy.