Abe Cabinet Approves Controversial Security Legislation

OSAKA, JAPAN - MAY 14: Commuters walk past a big screen displaying the news of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe press conference on May 14, 2015 in Osaka, Japan. Abe cabinet approved 11 bills that will expand the overseas role of the Self-Defense Forces. The security legislation was drafted after the Abe Cabinet in July last year reinterpreted the Constitution to lift Japan's long-held ban on exercising the right to collective self-defense. The reinterpretation raised criticism that the Abe government was moving unilaterally in shifting Japan's postwar security policy away from its pacifist ideals. The ruling parties hope the new legislation will be ratified and become law by the end of July. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)