Japan yesterday loosened the bonds on its powerful military, proclaiming the right to go into battle in the defense of its allies, in a highly controversial shift in the nation’s pacifist stance.
After months of political horsetrading and browbeating of opponents, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his Cabinet had formally endorsed a reinterpretation of rules that have banned the use of armed force except in very narrowly defined circumstances.
“I will protect Japanese people’s lives and peaceful existence. As the prime minister, I have this grave responsibility. With this determination, the Cabinet approved the basic policy for national security,” Abe told a press conference. “There is a misunderstanding that Japan will be involved in war in an effort to defend a foreign country, but this is impossible. It will be strictly a defensive measure to defend our people.”
Abe has faced down widespread public opposition to the move.
While the move to allow so-called “collective self-defense” needs parliamentary approval, the control of both chambers that Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party enjoys renders that a formality.
Abe had originally planned to change Article 9 of the US-imposed constitution, which was adopted after World War II and renounces “the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.”
However, unable to muster the two-thirds majority he needed in both houses and unlikely to get an endorsement from the public in the required referendum, he changed tack, using what opponents say is sleight of hand to alter what the clause means.
Supporters say the reinterpretation is necessary because of the worsening security situation in East Asia, where an ever more confident China is pushing its territorial claims and an erratic North Korea is threatening stability.
Under the new definition, Japanese troops will be able to come to the aid of allies — primarily the US — if they come under attack from a common enemy, even if Japan is not the object of the attack.
Examples pushed by the Abe camp have included a missile attack by North Korea on US forces in Guam — they say the shift would allow Japanese troops to shoot down the missile as it passes overhead, something not allowed presently.
China has warned against the move, saying it opens the door to the remilitarization of a country that is not sufficiently penitent for its actions in World War II.
Just ahead of the announcement, Beijing said Tokyo was guilty of “stirring up troubles on historical issues.”
“It’s only natural for us to wonder if Japan is going to change its path of peaceful development that it has long pursued after World War II,” a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said.
The Japanese administration rebuts this, saying the change will allow it to promote a notion which it has dubbed “proactive pacifism,” but that will not entail involvement in military operations overseas, such as in Afghanistan.
“There will be no change at all in our principle not to allow the dispatch of forces abroad,” Abe said. “We shall never repeat the horror of war. With this reflection in mind, Japan has gone on for 70 years after the war. It will never happen that Japan again becomes a country which goes to war.”
The move has received backing from Washington, which has long encouraged Japan to take on more of a role in a very lopsided defense treaty.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
RSS