Japan eyes military expansion rules

TOKYO: Japan’s cabinet was expected Thursday to approve a set of bills bolstering the role and scope of the military, as the pacifist country redefines its position in the increasingly roiled Asia-Pacific.

The bills are a pet project of nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who says Japan can no longer resile from underpinning regional stability and must step out from under the shade of the security umbrella provided by the United States.