Japan pushing on with military reform despite fiery suicide bid
Source: Agence France-Presse
Japan's government will press ahead with divisive plans to loosen restrictions on its military, a top government spokesman said Monday, despite widespread public anger and a protester's horrific suicide bid.
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The dramatic suicide attempt was widely discussed on social media in both English and Japanese, with numerous videos and photographs posted by onlookers.
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The government's chief spokesman Yoshihide Suga on Monday refused to comment on the protester's suicide attempt, which he said was a police matter, but confirmed that the cabinet would push ahead Tuesday with plans to change the interpretation of part of the pacifist constitution.
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The liberal Mainichi newspaper said at the weekend that 58 percent of voters are opposed, while the Nikkei business daily, in its poll published Monday, said 50 percent of respondents were against the change.
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The suicide bid received scant coverage in the mainstream media -- which is sometimes criticised as servile -- with none of the national newspapers using a picture in their short reports.
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Read more: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Japan_pushing_on_with_military_reform_despite_fiery_suicide_bid_999.html
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