Japan’s Cabinet endorses defense changes
Print Edition
JAPAN’S Cabinet yesterday endorsed a set of defense bills that would allow the country’s military to operate under a broader definition of self-defense and play a greater role internationally, a plan that has split public opinion.
Hundreds of people rallied outside Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s office calling the bills “war legislation” that turn Japan toward militarism. They say the move would tarnish nearly 70 years of efforts by Japan to regain international trust and identity as a pacifist nation.
Abe, in a bid to win over the public, said in a televised news conference that Japan’s military needs to be able to do more to protect the country and “contribute” to international peacekeeping.
“We cannot look away from this severe situation,” he said.
“Right now, we don’t have the (legal) instruments necessary to eliminate the danger even when our lives are in clear danger.”
The bills, whose titles include phrases such as “peace and security” and “international peace support,” will next be taken up by parliament.
After its defeat in World War II, Japan renounced war under the US-drafted constitution that essentially limits the use of force to self-defense.
The bills would remove geographic restrictions on where the military can operate.
Another change would allow Japan to defend its allies, not just itself. The government says they are needed to bring domestic law in line with Abe’s national security policy.
The legislation would also enhance the US-Japan security alliance, but Abe denied opponents’ fears that it would increase the chance of Japan being drawn into a US-led war.
Instead, the legislation would “increase deterrence and further eliminate chances of Japan coming under attack,” Abe said.
Critics say what constitutes the right to use “collective self-defense” or when troops could be sent on a peace mission overseas is too vague.
China raised concerns, citing Japan’s wartime history.
“We hope Japan makes actual efforts in absorbing historical lessons, adhering to peaceful development, and making positive and constructive contributions to a peaceful and stable development in a region shared by all the Asian countries,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
Koichi Nakano, an international politics professor at Sophia University in Tokyo, said the proposed changes were problematic because they would allow the prime minister and a handful of leaders to make crucial decisions, including dispatching troops overseas, without due process.
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