CRI听力:Japan Cabinet Approves Draft Security Bills

The Cabinet of Japan on Thursday approved a legislative package on national security.

The package will allow Self-Defense Forces to fight abroad, marking a major change to Japan's post-war exclusively defense-oriented security policy.

Hundreds of citizens rallied outside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's office on Thursday, calling the bills "war legislation" that turn the country toward militarism.

Taeko Otaki is one of the protesters,

"I join this protest filled with anger. I was born right after the war, but during this time (since the war) Japan was able to gain prosperity and trust from the world because of our pacifist constitution, because that gained trust from the international community, and we

all worked so hard to get here, with the peace constitution as our pride."

Earlier, China called on Japan to "learn the lessons of history" before Tokyo approves the bills.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying,

"We have said many times before that due to historical reasons, Asian countries neighboring Japan, and the international community, pay a high level of attention to any changes in Japan's security policy. We hope that Japan can earnestly learn the lessons of

history, uphold the path of peaceful development, and play a bigger constructive role in the Asian region in which we coexist for peace, stability and joint development."

After its defeat in World War II, Japan renounced war under the US-drafted pacifist constitution that bans the use of force as a means of settling international disputes.