the upper house approved legislation for a security policy shift that would allow troops to fight abroad for the first time since the Second World War a ruling party lawmaker said. (Yuya Shino/Reuters)

The legislative standoff is the latest development in a yearslong national debate about the way Japan uses its military. It has been a central question for the country since its armed forces were defeated in World War II seven decades ago.

Before the vote, opposition lawmakers introduced a no-confidence motion against the committee chairman, who earlier had tried to force the meeting to start.

The motion was the latest delaying tactic by opposition lawmakers who are trying to scrap the ruling party bills, which would allow the military to defend Japan's allies even when the country isn't underattack, work more closely with the U.S. and other allies, and do more in international peacekeeping.

Opposition claims constitutional violation

Despite the delays, the bills are likely to be passed eventually because Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc has a majority in the upper house.

Abe says Japan needs the bills to bolster its defence amid China's growing assertiveness and to share global peacekeeping efforts. Opponents say the legislation violates Japan's war-renouncing constitution, while putting Japan at risk of being embroiled in U.S.-led wars.

The ruling party's hope that final approval by the full upper house would take place later Thursday appeared increasingly difficult as the opposition plans to propose a series of no-confidence votes against Abe's Cabinet and its key members — a process likely to take more than half a