During a meeting at the Headquarters for the Realization of Constitutional Revision, held at the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) headquarters on Dec. 21 last year, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida spoke of his hope that the party would realize constitutional reform.
Kyodo News reported that the four-point draft proposed by the LDP would amend Article 9 of the Japanese constitution and create an emergency clause.
The Japanese constitution was designed by the US after Japan’s defeat in World War II and has never been revised, 75 years since its implementation.
The constitution imposes stringent restrictions on the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) — most notably, in Article 9, Paragraph 1, which says: “The Japanese people forever renounce war.” Paragraph 2 as well says: “Land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained”; and: “The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.”
The LDP won a landslide victory for the Japanese House of Representatives seven years ago, and with a strong mandate, then-Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe revealed his plan to amend the constitution to make Japan a “normal country,” to elevate the status of the JSDF to a military better prepared to respond to emergencies and threats to national security, and to lift the constitution’s restrictions on the JSDF’s foreign engagements.
However, the plan was shelved following objections from opposition parties.
More recently, Japan has endured frequent missile tests by North Korea and increasing military pressure from the Chinese Communist Party. For instance, in October last year, Chinese and Russian warships sailed through the Tsugaru Strait and the Osumi Strait, almost circumnavigating Japan and putting the country on high alert.
This provocation helped to revive the movement to amend Japan’s constitution. In the general election for the 49th House of Representatives on Nov. 1 last year, the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party, which advocated for constitutional amendment, won more than two-thirds of the seats in Japanese Diet they required to act.
If Japan’s constitutional reform and the augmenting of the JSDF can be completed during the Kishida administration, it could not only provide the means to send troops overseas, but also give the forces legitimacy to take part in operations with allies.
The leaders of Japan and Australia held a video summit on Jan. 6 and decided to increase the frequency, scale and intensity of joint military training and operations between the two countries. The next day, the ministers of national defense and foreign affairs for Japan and the US also held a video conference, after which the two sides pledged to cooperate to prevent China from destabilizing the region.
Japanese media reports said that the meetings had one thing in common — a determination for Japan to play a more important role in Indo-Pacific military and security cooperation.
Japan has been shaken in recent years by the possibility of a nuclear strike from North Korea, Chinese military expansion and Taiwan’s status as “the most dangerous place on Earth.” Japanese politicians have acknowledged that if Taiwan is attacked, it would be difficult for Japan to stay out of the conflict.
To increase its readiness, the Japanese government is eager to revise its military strategy and to expand the role of the JSDF through constitutional amendments. If it succeeds, it could exert greater influence, allowing its armed forces to play a greater role in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region.
Yao Chung-yuan is an adjunct university professor and former deputy director of the Ministry of National Defense’s Strategic Planning Department.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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