Japan's military is showcasing its ability to defend remote islands, as its role expands at home and abroad under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The military began large-scale annual "Fire Power" exercises today at the foot of Mount Fuji. Defense officials say the exercises, which last until Sunday, are aimed at repelling a hypothetical invasion of far-off Japanese islands.
Officials said the exercises reflect new defence guidelines that emphasize island defense. Both Japan and China are pressing their rival claims to a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.
Abe's Cabinet has approved a reinterpretation of Japan's war-renouncing constitution to allow the military to defend foreign countries, sharply dividing public opinion.
