Prime Minister Shinzo Abe takes every opportunity to play up the benefits of security legislation that his administration has sent to the Diet and dismisses the potential risks to which the proposed bills could expose the nation and its Self-Defense Forces. He lashes out against some opposition parties' calling the bills "war legislation" as "irresponsible labeling" and "totally misguided." He may be trying to avoid alienating a public still largely wary of his administration's bid to expand Japan's international security roles. But it would be dishonest for the prime minister not to discuss the potential downside of the legislation, which would usher in a major shift in the nation's postwar defense posture.

The "legislation for peace and security" amends 10 existing laws to implement his Cabinet's decision last July to change the government's long-standing interpretation of the war-renouncing Constitution to enable the nation to engage in collective self-defense and significantly expand the scope of SDF overseas missions, including joint operations with the U.S. military. The "international peace support law" is a new blanket piece of legislation that would pave the way for SDF dispatches overseas on missions to provide logistic support for other forces engaged in international military operations.

Abe evaded straightforward answers when, during Wednesday's one-on-one debate with opposition leaders in the Lower House, Democratic Party of Japan chief Katsuya Okada repeatedly pressed the prime minister to acknowledge the dangers that the legislation could create for the nation and the SDF.