politics

Abe's mission unaccomplished: Pushing to revise Japan's pacifist charter

48 Comments
By Linda Sieg

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48 Comments
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64% of Japanese opposed revising Article 9.

Yet the usual crowd on here and around the globe would have you believe 'all' Japanese are ignorant white washers of their history, oh so eager to bring back their militaristic past.

5 ( +28 / -23 )

Brilliantly argued, Old man. All PM Abe is fighting for is the capacity of Japan to be able to defend Herself and Her allies in this region, in the most dangerous time for Japan in 70 years.

But many people will claim Japan wants to become "aggressive" and "rampage across Asia". Nonsense.

Excellent photo!

-6 ( +26 / -32 )

64% of Japanese opposed revising Article 9.

Yet the usual crowd on here and around the globe would have you believe 'all' Japanese are ignorant white washers of their history, oh so eager to bring back their militaristic past.

The two issues aren't connected in any way. So what's your point other than to blather?

1 ( +22 / -21 )

Yet the usual crowd on here and around the globe would have you believe 'all' Japanese are ignorant white washers of their history, oh so eager to bring back their militaristic past.

It could be that many Japanese ( don’t know where you are getting ‘all’ from, cobber ) whitewash their history while not wanting to return to their militaristic past.

-2 ( +18 / -20 )

@oldman_13

Yet the usual crowd on here and around the globe would have you believe 'all' Japanese are ignorant white washers of their history

Not at all. Ordinary Japanese are like sheeps; they follow whatever their leaders tell them to do unconditionally, as it is unbecoming of Japanese for subordinate to question the people in authority.

This is why Japan is classified as a Russia-style oligarchy and not a democracy.

Anyhow, it is too late for Japan to cross out the Article 9, Japan is too bankrupt to remilitarize now, and the Pacifism and conflict resolution with neighbors in form of giving up on all its outstanding territorial claims is the best way to guarantee Japan's long term survival.

If Abe tried to remilitarize during his first term in 2006, that might have worked because Japan still had resources to rearm back then. But Japan of 2019 can't; it's too bankrupt and too old to militarize.

This is why Japan was begging to be able to buy the F-22 at $300 million a copy back in 2009 before being denied, but Japan of 2019 refused the F-22 sales offer from the US citing too high a cost.

-10 ( +17 / -27 )

I support Abe, Japan cannot stand unarmed in front of rampant belligerence from North Korea regime and Chinese oppression

5 ( +22 / -17 )

@Hokkaidoboy

I support Abe, Japan cannot stand unarmed in front of rampant belligerence from North Korea regime and Chinese oppression

But where is the money to rearm and where are the young men of Japan to rebuild the military? Abe san just raised sales tax in the middle of a recession and is going after Japan's wealthy's offshore accounts to raise tax revenue to pay for soaring elderly welfare and debt service cost. Japan must restore conscription in order to build a military of sufficient size, how many Japanese young men under the age of 30 back restoration of military conscription?

-12 ( +12 / -24 )

@Samir Basu

I appreciate your response, but conscription cannot be applied in Japan for many reasons, especially social issues. JSDF must be armed, I didn't mean arms race.

13 ( +22 / -9 )

pledging to bolster Japan's defenses in response to a growing threat from China and aiming to amend the pacifist constitution

This reason is malarkey! Japan is its own worst enemy in Asia.

-13 ( +7 / -20 )

@Hokkaidoboy

 but conscription cannot be applied in Japan for many reasons,

Conscription is the only way for Japan to build a military of a sufficient size, say 800K troops.

And Abe's proposed conscription does exactly that; the revised "war constitution" places the duty to protect Japan on the shoulders of each individual Japanese citizen, opening the path for Japanese government to resume military conscription. This is why Japanese voters must vote for candidates opposed to revising the peace constitution for the sake of their own children, not vote for LDP candidates like mindless lemmings.

-14 ( +10 / -24 )

Ganbare Japan!Today  06:52 am JST

Brilliantly argued, Old man. All PM Abe is fighting for is the capacity of Japan...

That's not really what the comment was about at all.

2 ( +16 / -14 )

HokkaidoboyToday 07:17 am JST

I support Abe, Japan cannot stand unarmed in front of rampant belligerence from North Korea regime and Chinese oppression

Comedy gold! Just how many sock puppets does this guy have on Japan Today? Kudos. ROFL. Yawn.

-2 ( +16 / -18 )

I hold the opinion that Article 9 is a symbol of defeat and humiliation. What independent country in the world is prohibited to have its own military?

They are each and in itself separate issues.

1) Military - Full fledge military

2) Defense- Removal of US military

3) Deterrent - Neighboring threats

Amend the Constitution, protect your own country, and update to keep China and North Korea honest. This woukd be my view if Japan were my own country and isn’t necessary militaristic.

9 ( +16 / -7 )

@quercetum

Amend the Constitution, protect your own country,

I hope you are older than 30, too old to be conscripted for the newly formed Japanese National Army.

-13 ( +6 / -19 )

now you know where your tax is going.

sadly and without your consent, you people are supporting the future War.

it is time to remove this puppet.

-14 ( +4 / -18 )

@quercetum

Amend the Constitution, protect your own country,

I hope you are older than 30, too old to be conscripted for the newly formed Japanese National Army.

I don’t think selfishly. If it’s what the country needs.

A country needs to have its own military. You can’t deny it. Your argument is budget but that does not refute the argument of the right to defend your own country.

11 ( +16 / -5 )

JT, the photo, the Flag and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe grinning?

I think their needs to be a tad more objectivity. It is unnecessarily provocative.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

I think I prefer Abe trying to do this without the 2/3rds majority required to do so than him trying to placate Nippon Kaigi etc. in smaller and more achievable ways.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

kohakuebisu, never surrender to the terrorists.

-11 ( +1 / -12 )

quercetum, which international laws says that just because you have China as a neighbour, or North Korea as a neighbour, you need military ?

I would look at the Sini-Japanese War 1937. Without a military how would China defend itself against Japan? There might be other examples.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

I do not support Abe San agenda and I believe unequivocally the nation will reject any revision to the only globally recognizable pacifist constitution. That photo though is not going to change public opnion.

-7 ( +2 / -9 )

War is a great money making scheme for arms manufacturers and military peripheral suppliers. This applies just as well to "defense." It's all about money and corporate greed. Peace is a natural condition. It doesn't come about by backing someone into a corner or having more or bigger arms than a would be aggressor.

If the amount of money that's being spent on "defense" were used for peacemaking activities and politicians and diplomats actually did their jobs and represented their people and actively worked towards peace, we would have it.

War, defense and the threat of war is also a control mechanism. "Keep people in fear and they are easier to control." All the media gives us is bad news. It's not accidental.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

Ex war criminal countries must NEVER EVER be allowed to rearm EVER again!!!

-14 ( +8 / -22 )

Ex war criminal countries must NEVER EVER be allowed to rearm EVER again!!!

Germany says 'Hi'.

17 ( +20 / -3 )

Abe trots round the world trying to influence other countries to back him against North Korea instead of going there himself.

He tries diplomacy in Iran at the same time ships are being attacked!

Childless Abe is a failure that would let the genie out of the bottle...

-14 ( +2 / -16 )

Could we spare the poor old defenseless Japan claim.

FACT: Japan is one of the most armed countries on earth.

According to Global Fire Power's rankings of world militaries in it's PowerIndex, as of 2019, Japan is placed in 6th position only behind US, Russia, China, India & France.

FACT: Japan's military budget / spending currently sees it occupy somewhere between 6th - 8th ranking in the world depending on the source.

Abe's intent in all of this is well known. Simply he wants to carry out his late grandfathers - Prime Minister Kishi aka 昭和の妖怪; "Devil of Shōwa", desire to revert to a pre-war fully operational military.

This and appeasement for the far right bodies including of course his Beloved Nippon-Kaigi.

-8 ( +7 / -15 )

The poor arguments of Abe's apologists, riddled with absurd claims and non-sequiturs, have been soundly demolished on this thread by the logical, fact-based refutations of posters who believe in speaking truth to power. When will they ever learn?

-13 ( +4 / -17 )

This push is nothing more than a personal agenda for Mr. Abe and not a benefit for the people of Japan. Ref article: For Abe, revising the constitution is a personal mission - one that eluded his grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, who quit as premier in 1960 due to a furore over a U.S.-Japan security pact. "It's not only who he is, it's who his grandfather was and it's his base," Samuels said. "It's the view that says that ... we are a different Japan, no longer bound and constrained by the defeat of World War Two."

From the understanding Japan agreed and signed to renounce war "FOREVER"

see ref: "Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on 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. 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."

— Article 9, The Constitution of Japan (1947)

Seems pretty clear support of the 67% against any changes.

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

Abe is full of scandals including corruption with his LDP party. This military strategy to be revised in Constitution means big money to "go and hide" everything is much expensive the average of our standard life, a brand-new jet fighter costs 5 new buildings of 10th floors, isn't that abnormal?

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

kohakuebisu, never surrender to the terrorists.

Indeed. My point is though that politics is "the art of the possible". For all his efforts, Abe is incapable of changing the constitution. He does not have a large enough parliamentary majority and is therefore wasting his time. I would rather he waste his time on this than on other achievable things on the Nippon Kaigi agenda.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

That's not really what the comment was about at all.

this is what happens when you think in Japanese but type in English, or google translate.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

They been on this crap for years. Basically Japanese want the US bases here, want access to the US markets

Not a bad relationship, and why fix something that isnt broke

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Now on track to become Japan's longest serving premier, Abe has kept his first promise. The second remains elusive.

What was that the first promise (accomplishment)?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

They been on this crap for years. Basically Japanese want the US bases here, want access to the US markets

Not a bad relationship, and why fix something that isnt broke

I lose count of hoe many times I say this through the cause of a day, "if it is'nt broken, don't fix it".

However, I do think that the current status quo is out of date and needs to be modified. The arrangement of the USA guaranteeing to defend Japan, when Japan does not guarantee to assist the USA may cause future problems, in my opinion.

12 ( +13 / -1 )

oldman_13: "Yet the usual crowd on here and around the globe would have you believe 'all' Japanese are ignorant white washers of their history, oh so eager to bring back their militaristic past."

I love how you say this so matter-of-factly in the FIRST post on this thread, before anyone has said a single thing except the voice in your head. What you should be more focused on, given the stat you mention in the first part of this quote, are the 64% of Japanese -- the majority -- who are clearly ignored in favour of the ultra-right, who push the nonsense this Prime Minister is pushing. But nope.

-8 ( +6 / -14 )

Heh, Heh - gotta love those who obviously disagree with my sentiments.

I presented some FACTS pertinent to the topic at hand, yet no one has entered into discussion or debate.

Come on guys - refute my facts please, so we can analyze the guts of this all.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Japan, and many other nations around our area who are able to put together a fighting force, are been squeezed slowly into an invidious choice, by virtue of China's massive military expansion across all services, and its increasing choke hold in the South China Sea.

All nations have a choice, be submissive to China's domination and have terms of trade dictated by China, or, quickly militarise and band together with all the other nations, in order to try and stale-mate China's military threat.

The 'New Emperor' of China has made his intentions clear, by expansion into international waters he claims China owns, with seven military bases created in the South China Sea.

Small nations have been bribed or suckered into financial slavery, have had infrastructure that will benefit China's military (naval) expansion, from the South Pacific, to Africa, to Greece, so far.

We stumble blindly towards "one road, one belt" seeing the financial benefit, in the short term, when, in reality, it may become our noose!

5 ( +6 / -1 )

abe needs to just disappear. he's the biggest failure Japan has experienced in decades. clown pm, clown politics. ridiculous small man bent on sending what little of his remaining young population is left into Chinese machine gun fire.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Japan is placed in 6th position only behind US, Russia, China, India & France.

More than the ranking, it’s the relation to Japan’s neighboring threats. “Behind China” affirms Abe’s concerns and the need to bolster the defenses. If Japan were ranked ahead of China, then your point would have been better made.

You write “it’s a fact” but you support that with a ranking. Facts are objective. Rankings are subjective.

Furthermore, it may not be how “well-armed” a military is but instead whether they can answer the enemy’s most potent weapons. The US may be bluffing but the US has said it has no answer for Chinese and Russian supersonic and hypersonic missiles, missiles that travel faster than the speed of sound and even faster. Hypersonic missiles are not going to be traveling very long, moreover, consider the distance between Japan and China, not very far. Try slicing a bullet with a sword.

FACT: Japan's military budget / spending currently sees it occupy somewhere between 6th - 8th ranking in the world depending on the source.

It’s not how much you spend but what your capabilities are.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

What the opposition parties have to do is allow a national referendum to be held. It is up to the Japanese people to decide whether they want to change Article 9 or not.

This referendum would be a great plebiscite for both Abe and the LDP. And in case of losing it, it would also become the political death of the LDP as well as of Abe. It's that simple.

If the opposition is so convinced that the Japanese people do not want to change that Article. Why are they so afraid to accept such a referendum?

I ask

0 ( +1 / -1 )

quercetum - thanks for your reply.

My initial posting of the size and power of the Japanese military was in response to those who suggested Japan is defenseless ie no military.

I offered simple facts proving otherwise. How Japan uses it, is another point.

And your comment re my posted rankings are subjective, based not on facts.

Well - I'll leave you to figure that one out.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Calling the Japanese Constitution as pacifism is actually wrong and should be called non-militaryism. And it becomes a set with the Japan-US Security Treaty.

If Japan change its constitution, Japan will be able to also have the option to change the treaty.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Most of this is due to America wanting to have a pop at China in the next 20 years. It's defo gonna kick off in the future between America and China. About 8 years ago, I watched a doc on local South Koreans fighting to save a coastal area from becoming a future American naval base. They lost. The American's want a strong Japan and bases in South Korea so they can kick it off with China in the future. And with American backing Abe can now try and push this through. Most of the Japanese rearming is being 'encouraged' by the US.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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