Tens of thousands of angry voters in the streets. Opinion polls recording deep-seated public unease.
The cause: a pair of security reform bills that will turn the nation's retiring Self-Defense Forces into a more proactive fighting unit, and the manner in which the government is pursuing that change.
On Thursday the ruling camp bulldozed the bills through a plenary session of the Lower House and immediately sent them to the Upper House.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.