Japón ya puede enviar Cascos Azules

Rules of engagement: Japan’s army
The Economist

The final contingent of Japanese troops is due to arrive in South Sudan this week, in a test of new legislation expanding their role overseas. The 350 members of the Self-Defence Forces are for the first time authorised to use their weapons to rescue civilians as part of a UN peacekeeping mission. Japan’s pacifist constitution has kept its once-powerful armed forces largely tethered at home since 1946. Last year Shinzo Abe’s government rammed security laws through parliament allowing the SDF to “proactively contribute” to global peace. But it can only join peacekeeping operations in conflict-free zones—leaving ministers having to play down recent fighting in the east African country. Protests in Tokyo forced Mr Abe to pledge that Japanese troops would not become embroiled in foreign wars. With South Sudan descending into renewed civil war, the deployment is being closely watched in Japan for signs that those reassurances may have been hollow.