Japan OKs additional role for its troops in South Sudan

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's Cabinet on Tuesday gave its approval for an additional mission for Japanese troops in South Sudan to assist U.N. peacekeepers with rescue operations, a task opponents say would risk embroiling the troops in international fighting in violation of the country's pacifist constitution.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has been expanding the military's international role, but opponents say this not only puts Japanese soldiers at greater risk, but also violates the country's post-World War II pacifist constitution.