TOKYO: A man in Japan set himself on fire at a busy intersection in Tokyo yesterday in an apparent protest against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plans to ease limits of the country’s pacifist constitution, police and witnesses said.
Japan is poised for a historic shift in its defence policy by ending a ban that has kept the military from fighting abroad since the Secod World War.
Abe’s cabinet is expected to adopt as early as tomorrow a resolution revising a long-standing interpretation of the US-drafted constitution to lift the ban after his ruling party finalises an agreement with its junior partner.
It was not immediately clear whether the man survived.
A police spokeswoman confirmed the incident, which took place near bustling Shinjuku station, but would not provide further details. Witnesses said the man, seated on pedestrian bridge, used a megaphone to protest plans to end a ban on exercising “collective self-defence”, or aiding a friendly country under attack.
reuters
