A man in his 60s set himself on fire outside Tokyo's Shinjuku railway station on Sunday to protest against Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to lift the ban on collective self-defense.

The immolation, an uncommon act in Japan, was a hot item on social media sites in both Japanese and English, with eyewitnesses posting numerous videos and photos.

Many Internet users identified the incident as part of the groundswell of opposition to Abe's push for constitutional reinterpretation to allow Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense.