Hundreds of Japanese people have taken to the streets to protest against the expected approval of a series of security bills in the country’s parliament, which could allow troops to fight abroad for the first time since World War II.

Carrying banners that read "No war" and "Scrap the unconstitutional war bills", demonstrators gathered near a hotel outside the capital, Tokyo, where lawmakers were set to hear public comments on the bills proposed by the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Protesters later blocked the roads, trying to stop legislators from driving away after the public hearing.

The bills, ratified earlier by the lower house of the Japanese parliament on July 16, will broaden the mandate of Japan’s military forces, allowing them to participate in foreign operations in order to protect allies such as the United States even if there was no direct threat to Japan.

The proposed new rules are scheduled to be put to the vote this week in the upper house of the parliament, where Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition has the two-thirds majority required for their approval.

Opponents are concerned that the bills would damage 70 years of pacifism as the revisions violate the 1945 constitution, which bars Tokyo from combat except in self-defense.

Abe and his supporters, however, say Japan should increase the extent and power of its army to tackle potential threats from regional countries that are expanding their military and nuclear capabilities.

In recent months, the Japanese have held protest rallies across the country to voice their opposition to the security bills.

Recent polls show that support for Abe’s administration has fallen to 36 percent, the lowest since he came to power in December 2013.