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Professor concerned that female soldiers would be naked after bombs blow off clothes

35 Comments
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24

For the last few years, members of the Japanese political sphere have been involved in a starkly divided debate over proposed amendments to Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which governs the role of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. On one side of the debate are those that say the current laws have kept Japan out of armed conflicts following the horrors of World War II, and on the other are those that argue the acting provisions are no longer suitable in light of terrorist activity and the growing military power of nearby China and North Korea.

Shigeaki Iijima, a professor of constitutional law and peace studies at Nagoya Gakuin University, seems to hold a dim view of amending Article 9. In talking to reporters with women’s news portal and magazine Shukan Josei Prime, Iijima offered his speculations on what changes might possibly accompany an expanded role for the JSDF. Increased government defense expenditures would accompany such a move, he believes, as would the need for a more thorough court of military justice.

While both of those ideas come from Iijima’s own mental simulation, he also spoke about a recent comment from Minister of Defense Tomomi Inada. At a press conference in April, Inada spoke about the possibility of female Ground Self-Defense Force personnel being assigned to combat roles in infantry and tank units, positions they haven’t been given in the past. So what’s Iijima’s take on such a possibility?

“In actual combat, if they are under attack from artillery shells or bombs, there is a chance their clothes could be blown off. In other words, they’d be naked. And if female SDF personnel were taken as prisoners of war, I think you can imagine what will be done to them.”

Iijima may indeed have a point about female POWs being at greater risk of sexual abuse by their captors. On the other hand, his description of female soldiers’ whose clothing has been blown away by explosive force as “naked,” as opposed to “injured,” struck many online commenters in Japan as extremely unusual. In particular, his choice of vocabulary conjures images not so much of death and carnage, but of ladies who newly tattered uniforms sexily reveal their feminine bounties, prompting many online to question Iijima’s grasp on how physics work.

“I’ve never heard of a battle where just the combatants’ clothing got conveniently blown off.”

“I saw something like that in Dragon Ball.”

“Is this supposed to be an erotic dojinshi manga plot?”

“So there’s a ‘nude bomb?’”

“This goes beyond stupid.”

“This guy plays too many porn games and watches too much anime.”

Regarding the last comment, commenters even speculated on which non-pornographic titles the inspiration might be coming from, with candidates including classic Neo Geo franchise Art of Fighting and ongoing busty ninja girl saga Senran Kagura, both of which feature tearing or bursting costumes after a character is struck with a decisively powerful blows. Not mentioned, but worth considering, is whether or not Iijima imagines all-male war zones to be filled with nothing but muscly, shirtless dudes, like a 1980s action blockbuster.

More forgiving commenters theorized that Iijima simply reached too far in looking for negative scenarios with which to prop up his argument in opposition to amending Article 9. That’s the sort of thing just about everyone has done at one time or another while zealously trying to make a point, but still, if the professor’s goal is to be convincing, he’d probably do well to remember that reality and anime are usually two very different things.

Sources: Yahoo! Japan News/Shukan Josei Prime via Jin

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© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

35 Comments
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“In actual combat, if they are under attack from artillery shells or bombs, there is a chance their clothes could be blown off. In other words, they’d be naked. And if female SDF personnel were taken as prisoners of war, I think you can imagine what will be done to them.”

This person is actually get paid by the government for his advice,

The soldier is well aware of what happens in battle, It call training.

Kurdish army employ women on the front line, Reason is Physic. When women are known to be on the front line killing ISIS dogs. It severely damage morale. To be kill by a women is taboo and the ISIS fighter will not go to paradise.

This Shigeaki Iijima, a professor of constitutional law and peace studies at Nagoya Gakuin University, should know this vital information when given advice. Being educated he should also know the sex abuser also sexually abuse males. He should stick to law. He is way out of this depth when it comes to modern warfare.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

No, clothes are not generally blown off in battle. However, they are usually the first thing ripped off of dead or injured soldiers by enemy combatants.

It's bad enough that men fight in wars, we don't need women fighting as well. Japan is in a unique situation where it doesn't have to send it's sons to war. But rather than be grateful for what is truly a wonderful thing in the history of the world, Japan wants to be able to kill off it's young men as other countries too often do.

But Japan Inc has it's eyes set on building it's own military-industrial complex, as if it's current hold on the economy and the national government isn't enough. But the money and resources to support a first-rate military do not exist, Japan cannot afford to pay the bills it already owes, and with it's rapidly changing demographics, the means to deficit-spend more, and finance this spending becomes less and less tenable.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

I’ve never heard of a battle where just the combatants’ clothing got conveniently blown off.”“I saw something like that in Dragon Ball.”

“Is this supposed to be an erotic dojinshi manga plot?”

“So there’s a ‘nude bomb?’”

“This goes beyond stupid.”

“This guy plays too many porn games and watches too much anime.”

Agree with all the above. Sangetsu excellent post.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Japan wants to be able to kill off it's young men

'Japan' wants to do no such thing. A rather vociferous section of the LDP and its hangers-on want to change the constitution, but most ordinary people I have spoken to are strongly in favour of the 'peace constitution' and see no need to change it. It's Abe and his ilk who want to be able to kill off other people's sons.

11 ( +13 / -2 )

Kurdish army employ women on the front line, 

The last I checked, Japanese culture is no way similar or related to the Kurdish. Would anyone positing placing women front center please kindly forward the names of their female relatives to the nearest army recruitment office and get back to us? Thanks!!

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

Bomb's don't just blow off clothing... exp. army clothing.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I'm into my 3rd year working at a university (my 2nd school now) and this type of moronic comment surprises me not in the slightest.

11 ( +13 / -2 )

@JCJapan - I have never worked at a university but I agree the comment is moronic. The fact that you are not surprised is kind of scary.

Regarding Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, it seems (unless I am interpreting something incorrectly) Japan is already in violation of Article 9 and has been for years and should not have weapons or implements of war at all. (Article 9, Clause 2).

I am not for rescinding Article 9, however my argument for changing the Constitution is that Japan is already in violation of the Constitution, which was primarily influenced by an occupying force. Japan, as a sovereign nation, should craft its own document.

ARTICLE 9 is shown below for reference.

第九条  日本国民は、正義と秩序を基調とする国際平和を誠実に希求し、国権の発動たる戦争と、武力による威嚇又は武力の行使は、国際紛争を解決する手段としては、永久にこれを放棄する。2 前項の目的を達するため、陸海空軍その他の戦力は、これを保持しない。国の交戦権は、これを認めない。

ARTICLE 9. (1) 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) In order 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 belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I think the professor has been watching too many cartoons.

Women choose to join the SDF and should be ready to serve in any position. Ms Inada says this might include serving in infantry and tank units. Of course, such service can only be possible within Japanese territory as the constitution forbids the use of force to settle international disputes. I hope Ms Inada remembers this.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

'Japan' wants to do no such thing.

Sadly, this is not the case, because in a democracy the political class represent the will of the people. If the political class does things which are against the will of the people, and the people do not immediately vote them out of office, then democracy is broken. If "Abe and his ilk" are going to be able to kill off other people's sons, it is the fault of the Japanese voters for giving him the mandate to do so.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

in a democracy the political class represent the will of the people. If the political class does things which are against the will of the people, and the people do not immediately vote them out of office, then democracy is broken

When the conservative rural vote has three, four or even five times the clout of the liberal urban vote then you are right, democracy in Japan is broken.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

This person is actually get paid by the government for his advice,

Nowhere in the article does it say this. He gave an interview to a reporter, but he does not have any role, paid or otherwise, in the government.

I think this article is just making an issue out of nothing. The guy's point is that female soldiers may face heightened risk of sexual assault if they are assigned to combat roles, which is debatable but at least something which could reasonably be mentioned in this context. He apparently did so in a clumsy fashion using a stupid and implausible example, which is really what this story is about, but so what? This is not a member of the government, he is a professor at a very minor university with very little to no public profile and no apparent influence on government policy. The headline is also clearly misleading, he is raising the concern that female soldiers will be sexually assaulted, not that their clothes will be blown off per se.

Also, with these Rocketnews articles that just summarize what the author read or saw in the Japanese media it would be greatly appreciated if links to the original sources could be provided rather than just an oblique reference to "Yahoo! Japan News" as the source. We have no idea what the original comment in Japanese was and whether or not the English translation being provided is being tilted to make it sound more sensational or ridiculous than it actually was (which the misleading headline makes me believe to be the case), nor do we know where these unsourced "online comments" come from.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Having my clothes "blown off" in an artillery bombardment would be the least of my worries.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

What a disgusting individual - the main thing he thinks about when women are mentioned, is their nakedness, not their injuries. And this guy teaches young women and men? Get him away from the students.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Which is more moronic the medical doctor who appeared on TV and said foreigners

cannot disgest Nori (seaweed) because they don't have a tradition of eating it.

If you are a sensei in this country you can say any dumb thing and you won't be

called out.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

What a creepy, deviant thing to say. Almost sounds like he is fantasizIng about it happening (or some sort of wishful thinking).

6 ( +6 / -0 )

When the conservative rural vote has three, four or even five times the clout of the liberal urban vote then you are right, democracy in Japan is broken.

Please to not play the sheep in thinking this is "left-right" matter. If you identify yourself as conservative or liberal, then you are half the problem, because you have allowed yourself to be molded into one or the other, and are no longer capable of independent thought.

The LPD does not get the rural vote because it is conservative or liberal, you'll find people in the countryside to be remarkably liberal. But the LDP buys the rural vote via subsidies. Those 25% to 700% tariffs charged on imported food are directed to rural Japan and Japanese agriculture.

It's true that if every Japanese got an equal vote that the LDP would not have been the sole power for nearly all of the past 6 or 7 decades. But that doesn't mean that the opposition would have done any better of a job, or that things would be any different now. In other countries you have rule by at least two parties, but this is not really relevant, as the political class itself does not belong to any particular party except that of self-interest. A political affiliation for them is nothing but a uniform they have to wear to follow the dress code. But they'll change into the uniform of the opposition party if such is necessary to serve themselves.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

“So there’s a ‘nude bomb?’”

Hilarious. I would've phrased it.."So there IS a nude bomb." Maxwell Smart, 1980.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Does this 'professor' also believe that bombs leave the victims with a black face, and hair that stands on end ?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

There's no doubt that women the world over are victims of war crimes and atrocities but his argument is a bit suspect.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

you'll find people in the countryside to be remarkably liberal.

I've lived in the Japanese countryside for far more years than I'm willing to own up to, and there are far more conservative folk here than there are liberal types. (No, I don't 'identify' myself as conservative or liberal, though I do own that my thinking processes tend more to the left than the right. It doesn't link me to any particular party, though I find the LDP and its current leader rather repulsive. Not as over the top perhaps as the UK's Nasty Party I mean Conservative Party or the US Republican Party, but still...)

You're right about the subsidies, of course, but the rural types don't continue to vote for the LDP in gratitude for their subsidies; they have a conservative horror of the unknown, aka change. As you note, the opposition probably wouldn't do any better, but the farmers and the old folk aren't wiling to risk what change might bring. And with their heavily-weighted votes, they get to decide what goes for the rest of the country.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

The title had me confused, remembering the Neutron bomb that can kill all living matter, but basically leaves cities and equipment intact, to practically be handed over to the perpetrators of the bombing. So here I was thinking that either there was a new bomb for fabrics or an anime...

However there is indeed the danger of more sexual violence and torture being a female soldier depending on who we are fighting. We know this because how daesh treats it's own females and the females they capture, even young girls.

I know for a fact a female from their sworn enemies, especially a strong willed woman or a soldier and even more so a westerner or anything "exotic" to them would be very valuable. This is why all daesh should be turned into eunuchs. Would cut their recruitment more than half. (no pun intended)

But I am sure this is an ignorant man who thinks a woman can not fight. Other nations have used females and quite effectively too. But there is nothing stopping a woman being just as effective with an M16 or AK47 as a man. There is also nothing stopping a man from being sexually abused or at the very least tortured if captured. I would rather go down fighting than be captured any day. But then again it could depend on who we are fighting, but the thought of surrender generally appauls me.

However the online comments that were in large print about games and animes was pretty funny. Sadly the guy was being serious though.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Bombs dismember, clothes would be least of the worries. All soldiers--male and female--know being blown up, captured, raped/tortured are occupational hazards. They are tough folks. It is arguable female soldiers face higher risk of sexual harassment and violence from their own ranks however.

A lot can be said about women in combat and combat in general but this person shouldn't be saying it.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Yeah... because being naked after a bomb conveniently ONLY blows your clothes off is going to be your biggest concern. This guy is definitely fantasizing.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

I get the feeling that he's not worried about women per se, but the modesty of 'his' Japanese women.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I think that unfortunately, anyone that close to a bomb going off would be dead rather than naked.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Idiot.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Did not know bombs bursting in air tore off only women's clothing or in fact such smart bombs existed.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

 And if female SDF personnel were taken as prisoners of war, I think you can imagine what will be done to them.”

He thinks every other military acts like the Imperial Japanese Army of decades ago.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

...W anchor.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Whether they will be naked or not would not matter. As if a piece of cloth would stop an animal's attack?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

" ThePBot May 26 11:23 pm JST

 And if female SDF personnel were taken as prisoners of war, I think you can imagine what will be done to them.”

He thinks every other military acts like the Imperial Japanese Army of decades ago."

Actually the IJA had a military prostitution system in place with the goal of avoiding or minimizing such  incidents. Read this and learn something.

http://uncensoredhistory.blogspot.com/2012/08/rape-by-german-and-waffen-ss-soldiers.html

0 ( +1 / -1 )

For all you critics of the distinguished professor, you're obviously not thinking: Your clothes are on the outside, and your body is on the inside, right? The bomb is outside your clothes. Ergo, your clothes are going to get blown off.

Every......single......time.

In fact this is the main reason I am discouraging my daughters from joining the self-defense army, service...force or whatever thingy.

It's very disconcerting!

So come on guys! Grab some brain cells?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

there is a chance their clothes could be blown off. In other words, they’d be naked.

Time to start a war with Japan this is hilarious

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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