Abe will have a tough time getting bigger peacekeeping roles for Japan on U.N. missions

Fulfilling Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's pledge to make Japan a "proactive contributor to peace" may not be so easy as the Self-Defense Forces end their participation in the peacekeeping operation in South Sudan and the government looks for other missions to join.

The U.N. mission in South Sudan was the first test case for giving the SDF a bigger role in international peace-building efforts based on Abe's controversial security laws that loosened the constraints of the pacifist Constitution.

But the SDF unit in South Sudan is leaving, with the first elements departing Monday evening Japan time without having carried out any of the potential security roles it was handed four months ago, including rescue missions for U.N. staff or others under attack.