politics

New Komeito wary of security change despite U.S. support

18 Comments
By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Nobuhiro Kubo

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18 Comments
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Well, this would be a good start for Japan to slowly stand up for itself and to one day have its own dependable military. But if Japan is not willing to take the nest steps or willing to make sacrifices then it shouldn't have its own military. What gets me is, if Americans fight and die for Japan, it's ok, but it's not ok for Japan to fight for its own sovereignty? If you ask most men in Japan if they would join the military most men say, they wouldn't. They should institute a draft system like in many other countries for about 18 months mandatory. This would also help get a lot of these Otakus out of the house and into reality.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Abe is a very tenacious person. The New Komeito party's rank- and- file, particularly women and members of a Buddhist sect tied to the party, mostly oppose lifting of the ban.The party lacks the ability to articulate a particular philosophy. How far can the New Komeito party resist?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Japan has been at peace since 1945, (because of our agreement) do we really want to change that? Why would we want to try and police the world, I haven't noticed that practice working out very well for the US. The only ones who stand to benefit from changing the constitution, (article 9) is the Military Industrial Complex & politicians.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Japan needs this. Any undermining of Article 9 is definitely a good thing.

A strong Japan, with a military unconstrained by Article 9 will contribute to the peace of East Asia more than a Japan that must rely on the United States for its own security.

This idea that Japan can afford to remain under the wing of the United States Military (or another hegemon after the eventually pulls out from the region in the future) forever is naive and completely unrealistic.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Japan should have gotten out from under the US's skirt a long time ago!

BUT Japan has that oh so wee problem of its history............. it hasn't done a good job of dealing with it, SO that is why its so hard for Japan to try to become a normal country with it own forces & why many of its neighbours aren't thrilled with the idea(again look at Germany..... no such problem, gee I wonder why??))

So by now Japan SHOULD be able to do this BUT they cant because they cant deal with their damned history!!

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Japan is not the only country that will support an ally under attack. Look around the Asian area. We see only China and North Korea against all the other asian countries. Japan need not stand alone unless it really wants to.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Another free-loader!

The US should give Japan 5 years notice of our abrogation of the treaty and give them a choice of a real (NATO style) mutual defense pact or looking after themselves.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

What if America was completely destroyed by an unpredictable act of nature...What would be Japans stance on the matter be then? Japan need's to think beyond America, and develop it's own rock solid world recognition, and trade extraordinaire ...beyond the norm...just my thought...

0 ( +1 / -1 )

North Korea wants a “full-scale nuclear war” with the South. The US and Nihon may get pulled into it anyway

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

There are many Japanese, from men or women on the street to politicians and high-ranking government officers, who naively believe Japan is a sovereign state, an equal partner to the U.S. That's a sheer illusion.

Japan is not a sovereign state; it's a U.S. vassal. The fact that Japan is obliged to provide military bases to the U.S. Forces (88 facilities in all) free of charge and shoulder the bulk of their maintenance costs (369 million dollars per annum) attests to this. If one base is returned, Japan must provide another one in its return. The Futenma-to-Henoko relocation issue exemplifies this.

Now, the U.S. is demanding Japan to either do away with its peace constitution or revise its current interpretation so that the JSDF can engage in collective defense for U.S. forces and help them fight global wars. For example, under the current constitution or the current interpretation of it, a Japanese warship accompanying a U.S. vessel cannot retaliate against an enemy ship firing at the U.S. ship. This is very unfair, the U.S. side says, for the U.S. must shed blood for the defense of Japan while Japan has no obligation to defend the U.S.

Sounds reasonable, but is it? Willingly buying the theory of U.S. Japan lobbyists, like Joseph Nye and Richard Armitage, right-winger Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing hard to revise the current interpretation of Article 9 of the Constitution and thinking ultimately to rearm Japan to the teeth. Have they forgotten the fact that Japan is still U.S. military-occupied and Okinawa its military colony? But, of course, Shinzo Abe has an agenda of his own.

A lamentable situation.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

voiceOO,

I am by no means a fan of all the US does but it does seem pretty clear to me that Japan has gotten plenty from the yanks as in decades of PROTECTION. All the while during that time Japan Inc was created, the Yanks opened their markets to Japan allowing her to re-build, but most Japanese seem rather clueless to all this.

Which makes it easy for Japan to say they are peaceful blah blah, pretty easy when the Yanks are in town aint it!

And many Japanese don't seem very great full for all that............. And yes its patently obvious the US also benefits from being in Japan.

All the more reason is too bad Japan cant get its history straight so it can start coming out from under that skirt!!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

GW,

It's true that post-war Japan resurrected from complete ruins with the help of the U.S. In order to revive the Japanese economy, during the Korean War, MacArthur's GHQ ordered most of war material from Japanese firms, thus giving a pump-priming effect to Japan's later economic development. The same happened during the Vietnam War.

But isn't it true also that the U.S. tried hard to stifle Japan's economy, meddling in every nook and corner of Japan's economic activities, which may have resulted in its decades-old depression of today? Please read Gavan McCormack's "Client State: Japan in the American Embrace" for the detail of U.S. meddling in Japan's economic affairs.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

VoiceOO

I think any problems with Japans economy that Japan is more than likely to blame for the last 25yrs or so than the US, in case you haven't noticed Japan is particularly "good" at stifling its own economy, it clearly doesn't need outside "help" with that!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

GW,

Of course you cannot blame all your failure on others. But my belief is the U.S. is at least partially responsible for it.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Getting involved in the USA's colonial adventures has done my country (Britain) nothing but damage. If I were Japanese, I'd be wary of this.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Getting involved in the USA's colonial adventures has done my country (Britain) nothing but damage.

Poms should be the last ones to call people out on colonial adventures - they're one of the inventors and the cause of a lot of damage to this day.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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