Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishidaurged the committee during the first days of August constitutional reform of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to speed up discussions on including the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in Article 9 of the Constitution, with the aim of reaching a consensus by the end of this month. Kishida stressed the need to guarantee in the supreme law the state’s duty to protect its citizens, a move that aims to put the finishing touches to his mandate before the LDP presidential elections in September.
During the meeting, Kishida also advocated submit the inclusion of the ADF in the Constitution to a national referendumas well as the emergency clause. He stressed the importance of citizens deciding on these issues. Meanwhile, Keiji Furuya, chairman of the LDP’s constitutional reform committee, announced the creation of working groups to hold debates on the reform and draft a clause on extending the parliamentary term in case of emergency. The LDP, which has a comfortable majority in both houses of parliament, may have the opportunity to push forward the constitutional reform, even if would need the support of other parties and, finally, the support of the population in a national referendum to achieve your goal.
From ChinaThe alarm signal was given by the government media, as in the case of the pro-government newspaper “Global Times”, which in an article immediately after Kishida’s announcement assured that this move by Tokyo would arouse fear among those who value peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The director of the Institute of American and East Asian Studies at Liaoning University, Lü Chao, assured this media that “if Japan succeeds in reforming the pacifist Constitution, this will allow this aggressor and defeated country to potentially participate in wars against other countries or use the threat of war.
In these statements on this fear of the government, Lü not only underlines the danger that this can pose for the Indo-Pacific region, but also underlines that this blatantly breaks the international order established after World War II. “As Japan continues to expand its military capabilities beyond its self-defense needs, if the vestiges of militarism are not adequately addressed, Japan could once again become a center of uncertainty in the region“, warned the Chinese academic.
During nearly three years in power, Kishida achieved what the late former prime minister, Shinzo AbeHe has always defended it during his long term in office but has not been able to carry it out: not only is he putting an unusual constitutional change on the table, but he is led an unprecedented increase in defense spending and, in December 2022, implemented a radical reform of security policy. This reform allows the Japanese ADF to counterattack in the event of an attack and authorizes the export of lethal weapons to allied countries. During this period, China, North Korea and Russia have been identified as threats to Japanin a context described as “the most serious and complex since the end of the Second World War”.
The late former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, upon his resignation in 2020.
Reuters
Although throughout his term, Kishida managed to stabilize Still volatile relations with South Korea and further strengthened the alliance with the United States and Western countries, he was unable to maintain the diplomatic balance achieved by his predecessor Abe, who managed to hold 27 summits with the Russian president, Vladimir PutinKishida also damaged the good relations Abe had established with Xi Jinping’s China and lost the opportunity for a possible summit this year with North Korea, after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un resumed contacts with Tokyo following the January 1 earthquake.
The pacifist article 9
The famous and pacifist Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution states that the people definitively renounce war, the threat and use of force. Japan is the only country in the world that has this explicit renunciation of war as a constitutional norm. Therefore, under this legal system, Japan refuses to maintain armed forces at any time. This pacifist orientation was based on the belief that in an emergency, it would be the United States that would assume the defense of the country.
After World War II, the United States not only drafted the Constitution, but also occupied Japan for seven years, assuming the defense of its territory. Although the occupation ended, USAwith Japan, It continues to maintain 130 military bases in the country. These bases are fundamental to the defense structure of the United States and Japan. This considerable military presence has earned Japan the reputation of being “America’s largest aircraft carrier,” as no other country in the world hosts more American military personnel than Japan.
At present Japan has the ADF, a de facto armydemocratically established since 1954 since every State has the right to its existence and to defend itself against external aggression. It is for this reason that even countries officially without armed forces, such as Panama or Costa Rica, have police forces responsible for protecting the borders and controlling the sovereignty of their air and maritime spaces.
If we compare post-war Japan, which had only police forces, with the country today, we see a radical change: today, the ADF is considered not only one of the most powerful in the region, but in the entire world: They have 200,000 soldiersmore than 50 warships, including four helicopter carriers, and more than 300 combat aircraft. This military development is not based solely on numbers, but on the quality of its electronic equipment, specially designed to defend against submarine threats and enemy missiles. Without taking into account China’s nuclear potential, Japan’s technical and technological capabilities place its navy among the best equipped in Asia.
Japanese military forces during a parade.
Reuters
These conceptual and strategic changes in Japan’s military capability made by Abe and the Kishida party in recent years have not been without criticism and fear, both inside and outside the country. Internationally, there is distrust, as neighboring countries have experienced the consequences of Japanese militarism and expansion in their recent history. Internally, many political actors and citizens view the increase in investment in the military sector with concern, as the devastation and destruction caused by World War II, wreaked in the Pacific by Japanese imperialist expansionism, is still fresh in the collective memory. Thus, the japanese people It is characterized, among other things, by a deep rejection of war.
Increasing your defense budget
For the Kishida government, the premise is clear: peace can only be guaranteed by maintaining a balance against potential aggressors. The idea that a country will not be attacked because it does not have strong armed forces is, according to it, erroneous. The invasion of Ukraine was a cruel reminder for Japanby issuing warnings and strengthening defense efforts in Taiwan. In this context, Japan plans to increase its defense budget by 60% by 2027, which would position it as the world’s third-largest military power, behind the United States and China.
The shift in Japanese strategic thinking began to manifest itself a few years ago, under Abe’s tenure, driven by China’s growing military power and threats to ‘take back’ Taiwanincluding by force, and North Korea’s continued missile testing. However, it was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that finally dismantled the last remaining obstacles within the government, population, and the ADF to implementing fundamental changes in Japan’s defense outlook and strategy. Putin’s military incursion into Ukraine underscored the urgency of preparing for the unpredictable: citizens’ perceptions have changed, and for the first time since World War II, the majority now support strengthening the country’s military capabilities. This shift in thinking is arguably unprecedented in Japan.
