Japanese proposal to shift military outlook
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-03 05:47

The first paragraph of Article 9 renounces war, but would be replaced under the LDP proposal by a paragraph stating the Japanese people will preserve the philosophy of pacifism in the future.

By amending the Constitution, the LDP wants Japan to be freed from constraints that limit military co-operation with allies.

The proposed constitution would enable Japan to deploy its troops in "non-aggressive operations" overseas - which could entail the use of force - on the condition operations are internationally co-ordinated, in line with domestic and international law, and approved by the Diet, the Japanese parliament.

The proposal calls for the scrapping of the second paragraph of Article 9 that stipulates Japan will never maintain land, sea or air forces and says that the "right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized."

It is not difficult to see the bare fangs and brandished claws in the proposal.

Since the end of the first Gulf War, Japan has slowly and discreetly sought more active participation in international operations. Japanese troops have been sent to Cambodia, East Timor and the Indian Ocean, where the Maritime SDF provided the United States military with logistical support in Afghanistan.

Japan deployed ground SDF personnel in Iraq on a humanitarian mission with instruments of war.

The proposed Article 9 fails to clearly define how such action should be regarded in future.

The LDP's proposed revision of the constitution demonstrates Japan's new mindset - encouraging military expansion. This is nerve wracking.

According to Mainichi Shimbun, Japan's ruling and opposition parties are scheduled to endorse a bill on the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The bill, entitled "Resolution of Vowing to Contribute to International Peace at 60th Anniversary of United Nations Establishment, End of World War II and US Atomic-Bombing on Japan," moves beyond Japan's aggression against Asian countries to other subjects.