Japan’s New Military Power
Pacifism has fundamentally characterized the Japanese Constitution, also known as the “Peace Constitution,” since its enactment in 1947 for a postwar Japan. Allied forces constructed this constitution in an effort to prevent further armed conflicts with Japan by converting its former militaristic and monarchical ruling system into one that exercises liberal democracy with a limited military. Article 9 of the constitution strictly forbids Japan from resolving international conflicts through means of war:
ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
(2) To accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerence of the state will not be recognized.
Last Saturday, Japan’s upper chamber of parliament approved a controversial security bill that reinterprets Article 9 of the constitution, allowing the Japanese military, now known as the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, to exercise an overseas combat role. While Japanese military forces have primarily been limited to humanitarian roles, it may now provide some militant aid for its allies in external affairs. The bill, championed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and several U.S. officials, has been largely opposed by public opinion – 54% of people oppose the legislation and only 29% are in its favor – according to a recent poll. Many protests have been organized since the bill was first introduced.
China, over recent years, has used its military might to assert territorial claims outside of continental Asia and has even built seven new islets with “port facilities, military buildings and an airstrip” in the South China Sea. China’s increased militarization and its territorial disputes with Japan may be a leading cause for the passing of the security bill. Japan’s neighbors have become wary of the bill’s approval, as it seems to have begun a shift in the balance of power in the region. The Chinese ministry reacted to the approval of the bill with the following statement:
We will pay close attention to Japan’s next moves. We urge Japan to learn hard lessons from history, take seriously the security concerns of its Asian neighbors, stick to the path of peaceful development, and do more to promote regional peace and stability.
Although the U.S. would have to protect Japanese sovereignty in any military conflict it may have, under the Bilateral Security Treaty of 1951, the new bill is widely regarded as a hard balancing technique by Japan to combat security and regional threats from China and North Korea.