BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Japan moves to loosen army's role:
"Japan's lower house of parliament has approved guidelines to amend the country's post-war pacifist constitution for the first time.Al mismo tiempo ha anunciado nuevas relaciones, lazos más estrechos, con China:
The bill now goes to the upper house and if passed, a referendum on changing the constitution to allow greater use of military force will be held.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to loosen the limits on military action.
Foreign deployments of Japan's self-defence force, like that to Iraq, currently require special legislation."
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, at the start of a summit hailed as a sign of improved relations.The two men issued a joint statement promising to look frankly at their historical disputes, and signed accords on energy and the environment.
"Our talks will be a big step toward building strategically and mutually beneficial relations," Mr Abe said.
Hmm, veremos qué ocurre.