ARIRANG NEWS 06:00 Coming up today,... despite strong opposition at home and abroad,... Japan takes another step closer to a more assertive military role overseas as lawmakers pass a series of controversial security bills. The two Koreas fail to reach a compromise on their protracted dispute over the wages of North Korean workers at their joint industrial park in the North. Plus,... the European Central Bank throws the Greek banking system a lifeline by increasing emergency funding to the banks by 900 million euros. Stay tuned for these stories and more. Hello and welcome... it′s six AM on Friday, July seventeenth here in Seoul. I′m Mark Broome and you′re tuned into our early morning edition of Arirang News. Title: Lower house approves Japanese PM Abe′s controversial security bills Our top story this morning.... Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is inching closer to achieving his goal of significantly expanding the role of Japan′s military. The country′s lower house approved a set of controversial security bills on Thursday,... despite growing public opposition. Kim Ji-yeon reports. Japan′s lower house of parliament has approved new legislation that could allow Japanese troops to fight abroad for the first time since World War Two. The package of 11 security bills would enable the Japanese military to aid an ally under attack. "The security situation surrounding Japan is becoming increasingly challenging. With this in mind, it is an absolutely necessary legislation to protect the lives of the Japanese and also to prevent the country from going to war. " The legislation will now be put up for a vote in the upper house, which has 60 days to approve it. If no action is taken, the lower house can push the bills through with another vote to make them into law by September 27th, when the current parliamentary session ends. Supporters of the bill argue a bolder stance is essential to meeting new security challenges, including a rising China. The bills′ passage comes amid mass protests in Japan and a dent in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe′s approval ratings. Organizers in Japan say an estimated 60-thousand protesters rallied against the legislation, fearing the county will be dragged into U.S.-led conflicts around the world. Demonstrators say the revisions could violate Article Nine of the country′s pacifist constitution, drafted after Japan′s defeat in World War-Two. The development is of particular concern to Korea and China, who both say Tokyo hasn′t shown any genuine remorse for Japan′s imperialist aggressions during wartime. Meanwhile, Abe′s disapproval ratings in Japan rose five points to 42-percent in an Asahi Shimbun poll released earlier this week. Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News. Title: Two Koreas fail to settle wage row at joint factory The two Koreas held rare government-level talks aimed at resolving a long-standing wage hike dispute at the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex on Thursday, but the two sides

• published: 17 Jul 2015
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