politics

Group says pacifist constitution still supreme, eyes Nobel

21 Comments
By Hyun Oh

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Now UN will have to dig how ... created japanese Constitution in his bedroom office with Countessa Tori ...

It doesn't matter where and how a child was conceived. It doesn't matter where and how a child was born. All that matters is what kind of person he/she grew into. Japanese people love their constitution.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

If Japan can approximate to that it will do much to ensure the safety of itself and therefore its citizens.

They can. It's called the JSDF. No need to re-interpret or re-write the constitution.

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Pacifism is all well and good so long as you don't allow yourself to be walked over by a more powerful and aggressive nation. A responsible government needs to strike a balance. Switzerland is a prime example, refusing to involve itself in war but having all males trained and armed at home ready to fight should the nation be forced to do so. If Japan can approximate to that it will do much to ensure the safety of itself and therefore its citizens.

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Jumin RheeOCT. 04, 2015 - 10:22PM JST "Obama recieved the Nobel peace price..." - Stuart Hayward

Not sure why a sitting (and newly seated at the time) president was given a nobel peace prize. Even someone like Gorbachev, who significantly changed the world, didn't get his in 1985 when he took office (he got in 1990).

On another note, Article 9 should be written into all countries constitution, then they can complain. US, China, NK, etc.

< I was only trying to make a point to Silly Girls comment. I am a total supporter of the pacifist constitution! Why on earth would we ever want to change something that created seventy years of peace. I'm all for Japan recieving the Nobel peace prize for what it has already achieved. It's a very short list of countries that have had peace for this long. Even if Japan doesn't get it, this proposal IS managing to gain new attention to the positives of pacifism and the potential dangers of changing that. >

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Just leave Condtitution alone, Now UN will have to dig how PM Shidehara, future PM Narahashi enabled GHQ Legal officer Kadis created japanese Constitution in his bedroom office with Countessa Torio who complied with PM's order.

They are all passed away but records exist. UN officials are not full with Japan lovers.

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"Obama recieved the Nobel peace price..."

Stuart Hayward

Not sure why a sitting (and newly seated at the time) president was given a nobel peace prize. Even someone like Gorbachev, who significantly changed the world, didn't get his in 1985 when he took office (he got in 1990).

On another note, Article 9 should be written into all countries constitution, then they can complain. US, China, NK, etc.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Oh, come on! Seriously? Let's not forget why Japan had this pacifist constitution bestowed upon them in the first place. I'm also always shocked at Abe's paranoia when it comes to China. There are greater threats to Japan than China. However, I guess one has to remember that, Japan has no friends in Asia. There is not one neighbouring country that would defend Japan, but there are many that would attack Japan and have strong historical reasons for doing so. I guess this is what breeds Abe's paranoia. Most people learn that, you have to be careful when you play the playground bully, because those you bullied can grow up to be much bigger than you.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

@PTownsend The EU deserved it for its anti-nationalist and peace-building institutions vis a vis former WWII enemies. I can't say the same for Japan which has not solved its problems with its former WWII foes and is not an internationally respected mediator the way an EU country like Germany is.

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It's like seeking world heritage status for a former natural wonder after it has been concreted over.

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The constitution is only as good as the courts that enforce it. In the case of Japan's supine Supreme Court we can find many absurd rulings that appear to ignore the constitution in order to avoid inconveniencing the government.

I hope that the Supreme Court will rule that Abe's security legislation is illegal, but I won't hold my breath. China's constitution looks good on paper, but in practice few of the freedoms it supposedly allows are permitted by the unelected dictatorship there. I think Abe wants to impose a similar dictatorship here, ignoring laws as and when it suits him.

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“The constitution is not yet compromised - it still stands as the supreme rule in this country and is strong enough to override any clashing legislation." On what planet is this guy residing?! How could one possibly read Article 9 and conclude that with Abe's "reinterpretation" and all that it implies, that the constitution is "not yet compromised?"

The Constitution states "...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. 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."

Yet according to Abe's "interpretation," Japan CAN maintain and EXPAND land, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential at will; it CAN use the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes (even if Japan's territory is not being threatened or even if Japan wasn't involved before it entered the conflict), and the belligerency of the Japanese state is most definitely now considered to be a VIABLE OPTION in international engagements.

With Abe's "new reinterpretation," (and with lackeys in the so-called "Buddhist pacifist party" New Komeito rubber stamping the unconstitutional revisionism to boot) the Japanese constitution is no longer worth the paper it's written on.

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Not the constitution, but the Japanese stance after the war does deserve a Nobel. Europe deservedly got its Nobel after 20 years of peace following 4500 years of continuous wars. It took an extremely focused effort, helped by a tremendous amount of money to achieve that.

Unfortunately that peace was broken by the Ukraine civil war...

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It was written solely by Americans, and on the orders of Washington. Japanese leaders objected to it when they first saw it, especially the part about equal education for girls.

So if there is a award, it should be given to its American, or jointly to Japan and the US.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

The EU received a well-deserved Nobel Peace Prize a couple of years back. European nations have had 70 years of peace after many centuries of wars, so it makes sense for a Japanese group to be awarded a prize for its efforts to try to have Japan maintain its peaceful nation status after its warring history.

That's a good idea so long as they teach the right story of the war, Europe already been reconciliated.

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Yes the document is great. I wish more countries had it. But it looks like it needs an Abe anti-weaseling amendment, so that the clear language on the constitution that explicitly forbade aggression outside of defence cannot be sidelined by reinterpretation

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sillygirlOCT. 04, 2015 - 05:12PM JST No longer pacifist therefore no longer eligible.

Obama recieved the Nobel peace price and his actions haven't been that of a pacifist, yet he was still eligible. There are other examples as well, but that was a recent and easy one.

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You truly have to be brain dead to think like this. The world can handle a few free-loaders off the common defense, but if all the free countries did this it would amount to surrender to Putin, to IS, to China and to any other autocrat/theocrat/kleptocrat looking to get their way by force.

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No longer pacifist therefore no longer eligible.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

The EU received a well-deserved Nobel Peace Prize a couple of years back. European nations have had 70 years of peace after many centuries of wars, so it makes sense for a Japanese group to be awarded a prize for its efforts to try to have Japan maintain its peaceful nation status after its warring history.

At a minimum the group will attract attention to its current moves to keep Japan peaceful.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Sorry, but the Constitution no longer deserves this award while it's leaders can interpret it howsoever they like. I'm a firm believer in the current Japanese Constitution, but until Abe's recent changes to legislation regarding the dispatch of the Self-DEFENSE Forces, export of arms, etc., it does not deserve, nor does Japan deserve, to be called a 'nation of peace' (or Constitution). Vote out the people who would see the Constitution changed, then bring it up again.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

Japan also has one of the most powerful militaries in the world. A better recipient for such a Noble honor would be Costa Rica, whose constitution has forbidden a standing military since 1949.

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