Thousands of people rallied Sunday against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to bolster the role and scope of the Self-Defense Forces.

The protest, which surrounded the Diet, was held as the nationalist Abe tries to force through a set of controversial bills making the changes.

The bills are a pet project of Abe, who says Japan can no longer shy away from its responsibility to help safeguard regional stability and must step out from under the security umbrella provided by the United States.