By Robert Dujarric
Forget the hype, there is much less to the proposed new legislation than meets the eye.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking approval for legislation that would permit Tokyo to dispatch the Self-Defense Forces (the SDF, Japan’s military in all but name) overseas and strengthen ties with the U.S. military and American allies.
Supporters welcome these “bold” measures, after what they consider decades of cowardly pacifism. Opponents see the first steps on the road to militarism. Reality is far less exciting.
First, there is little that is dramatic. Japan, under U.S. pressure, established the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in the 1950s and has continued to invest in them. From then on, Article 9 lingered as a zombie, stripped of its essence, as an idealistic but unrealistic remnant of another age.
The notion that the SDF was solely for “defense” was a useful fig leaf to legitimize the military. But the boundaries between defense, rational preemption, and aggression are so fluid as to defy legally binding criteria. From Day 1, the SDF could have been used for any scenario if the government and public wanted it so and the forces had the requisite capabilities.
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