Worrying words from proactive Abe

The proposal put forward by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that Japan should make a more "proactive contribution to peace", which is a translation of a phrase in Japanese that can also be rendered as "proactive pursuit of peace", should be questioned.

Countries in the Asia-Pacific region should be vigilant against Japan's push for a larger role in regional security, said a Xinhua News Agency opinion article.

In a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an international security conference, in Singapore on Friday, Abe talked about the need to defend international laws and to revise Japan's Constitution, which was put in place after the World War II, to remove the lid on the right to collective self-defense. He said the Constitution restricts Japan's global contributions and should be revised, starting with a broader interpretation of the war-renouncing Article 9 to allow Japan's military to help foreign troops.