By Emily S. Chen
The Japanese government continues to push ahead with changes to Japan’s defense policy.
Since assuming office in December 2012, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan has advanced an ambitious domestic and foreign policy to boost economic growth and remake Japanese defense policy. In a year that marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, particular attention has been placed on Abe’s controversial security policy, which has raised in some quarters concerns about Japan’s returning militarism. The recent Islamic State hostage crisis, which ended recently with the brutal killing of two Japanese citizens, has brought Japanese security and defense policy into even sharper focus. Will Japan continue to look to expand the role of the Self Defense Forces (SDF)?
Following last July’s efforts at reinterpreting the Constitution to allow Japan to engage in collective self-defense, Abe and his Cabinet have mapped out an action plan with three main components: enacting a national security law needed for Japan to engage in collective self-defense, requesting a record budget for defense spending in fiscal 2015, and revising the U.S.-Japan defense guidelines.
Under the reinterpreted Constitution, Japan is permitted to deploy the SDF to aid countries with close ties if three conditions are met: 1) an armed attack on the foreign country threatens Japan’s survival or raises clear dangers to the rights of Japanese citizens; 2) there is no other means than the use of force to protect Japan and its citizens; and 3) the use of force should be confined to the minimum necessary. Based on the new interpretation, on January 10, the Japanese government unveiled an outline of security legislation that aimed to enact a law authorizing the SDF to support friendly nations in the event of international conflict. Specifically, the envisioned law will define situations in which Japan can exercise the right of collective self-defense, replacing a current law that limits incidents to areas surrounding Japan. Most likely, the law would be used in an emergency on the Korean Peninsula. It will also authorize the SDF to support allied foreign militaries other than U.S. forces, contingent upon an international conflict. In arguable contingencies that do not constitute a “full-fledged military attack” on Japan, the Japanese government might dispatch the SDF with Cabinet approval.
Read the full story at The Diplomat