Japan military legislation changes draw protests

Thousands of people have protested outside of Japan's parliament against new legislation that would allow the military to deploy overseas.

The changes would allow Japanese troops to fight abroad for the first time since World War Two.
The legislation has already been passed by Japan's lower house and is expected to be endorsed by the upper chamber.
Under its constitution, Japan is barred from using force to resolve conflicts except in cases of self-defence.
But a reinterpretation of the law will now allow "collective self-defence" - using force to defend allies under attack.
The demonstrations are being led by students and other young people who say they wish to protect Japan's pacifist constitution.
Police are lining the streets and telling protesters to move along in an attempt to minimise disruption in the capital's centre.

Controversial plans

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the changes are necessary to protect Japan, but polls show many Japanese oppose them.
The plan was criticised at a recent memorial ceremony commemorating the dropping of a US atomic bomb in August 1945 on the city of Nagasaki which killed 70,000 people.
One survivor of the World War Two attack, 86-year-old Sumiteru Taniguchi, said he could not accept Mr Abe's new legislation.
Mr Abe has previously said that the change would not lead to involvement in foreign wars.

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What is collective self-defence?

Japan's post-World War Two constitution bars it from using force to resolve conflicts except in cases of self-defence.
Mr Abe's government has pushed for a change that would revise the laws such that Japan's military would be able to mobilise overseas when these three conditions are met: