By Jeremy A. Yellen
Despite widespread opposition, Japan’s PM is determined to reinterpret the constitution.
Japan’s ruling coalition is currently embroiled in a debate over the future of security. Preaching a new strategy of “active pacifism,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been pressing to reinterpret the constitution to allow Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defense. This would legitimate a more proactive role for the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and would allow Japan to launch counterstrikes if allies were under attack.
A new constitutional interpretation is an eminently sensible move, or so Abe and other supporters of “active pacifism” believe. After all, the current interpretation of Article 9 – the peace clause of Japan’s constitution – allows only the bare minimum use of force to defend the nation from direct attack. It does not permit the exercise of collective self-defense, or even the use of force to defend an ally that is under attack. This means that Japan is legally unable to shoot down a missile targeting the United States, and cannot come to the aid of an allied ship that is under attack.
This could have very real consequences for the U.S.-Japan alliance. Washington has for decades pressed Tokyo to take on a more proactive role in the alliance, which guarantees Japanese security but does not call on Japan to fight for America. The Abe government fears that if Japan does not show a broader willingness to fight alongside the U.S., then Washington might abandon its commitment to defend the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the event of a clash with China. As one member of Abe’s advisory panel on collective self-defense noted, “The United States does not want to fight for [the Senkakus]. If Japan, when push comes to shove, does not prepare to work together with the Untied States, then the United States will say goodbye to its participation in the defense of our islands.” A failure to aid its ally could even threaten the U.S.-Japan alliance, the bedrock of Japan’s security.
Read the full story at The Diplomat