It highlighted "more tangible" and "acute" challenges and destabilizing factorsThe legislation provides greater flexibility, responsiveness, and interoperability for training, exercises, and planning on a broader spectrum of security issues by easing restrictions on Japanese Self-Defense Force operations, including the ability to exercise collective self-defenseb体育在线etThis will empower Japan to be an active player at the region and global stagesThe white paper, the first after Japan's security legislation went into effect in March, played up the so-called "gray zone" situations, or neither pure peacetime nor contingencies over territory, sovereignty and economic interestsIn its 2016 defb体育在线etense white paper, Japan interferes in the South China SeaThe white paper served as an implementation scheme for the controversial security bills that enable Japan's Self-Defense Forces to play a more comprehensive global military role and allow implementation of the new US and Japan alliance guidelines