Seoul reiterated its calls on Tokyo to uphold the pacifist principle and transparency in carrying out its defense policy after Japan’s parliament enacted legislation early Saturday that will allow its military to fight overseas in a contentious overturn of its strictly defensive postwar security law.

Following a fiery political battle and late-night vote, the upper house approved 11 related bills, lifting constraints enshrined in Japan’s constitution on its military after World War II. The new rules enable its troops to exert the right to collective self-defense, meaning they could fight to defend allies even when they are not under attack themselves.

The move, long-cherished by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has sparked concerns at home and in neighboring countries such as South Korea and China.

“As it has publicly stated many times, the Japanese government will need to stand by the spirit of the pacifist constitution it has constantly been maintaining in the postwar era, and transparently pursue its defense and security policy in a way that contributes to peace and stability in the region,” Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement after the vote.

“We once again make clear that any exercise of Japan’s right to collective self-defense on the Korean Peninsula or over the issues concerning our national interests cannot be accepted without our request or consent.”

China’s Foreign Ministry criticized that Japan’s recent military buildup and drastic polity changes were “out of step” with the trend of today that values peace, development and cooperation.

“We solemnly urge the Japanese side to learn hard lessons from history, pay heed to the call of justice from home and abroad, take seriously the security concerns of its Asian neighbors, stick to the path of peaceful development, act with discretion on military and security issues and do more to promote regional peace and stability, rather than the opposite,” it said in a commentary.

A greater role for the Japanese military would cater to Washington’s growing need for allies’ burden shouldering in countering threats from North Korea and elsewhere and safeguarding the region at a time when its own resources are being increasingly stretched.

The legislative about-face will also facilitate Tokyo’s use of weapons in peacekeeping operations and participation in humanitarian missions and the U.N.-led collective security system.

The U.S. State and Defense Departments and Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate defense and foreign affairs committees issued a respective statement “welcoming” the passage.

Abe’s drive for a “normal state,” however, has failed to placate Asian neighbors’ worries over a string of unbridled revisionist moves, including attempts to whitewash the country’s imperial past and undercut past apologies, and the unilateral adoption of a new interpretation of the constitution instead of a formal amendment last year.

Many civic groups in Seoul relayed calls for a renunciation of the bills and warnings of Tokyo’s possible return to militarism.

“We strongly condemn the adoption of the security legislation that is no better than a springboard to aggression and war and urge an immediate abandonment,” the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan said in a statement. “The pacifist constitution was a minimum tool with which to keep Japan from waging war again.”

Hong Myeong-geun, an official at the Citizen’s Coalition for Economic Justice, raised the need for Seoul’s more stern response.

“The bills incapacitated the pacifist constitution and thus pose threats to peace in Northeast Asia, and represent Japan’s return to a military policy that can precipitate conflicts and confrontation.”

North Korea, for its part, blasted the policy change as a “product of collusion” between the U.S. that envisions world domination and Japan seeking to realize its military ambition on the peninsula with the backing of its top ally.

“We can never connive at Japan rushing upon us with a blade named reaggression,” Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by state media, vowing to further its war deterrence to fend off surrounding “invasion plots.”

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)