Japan Institute for National Fundamentals
https://jinf.jp/

Speaking out

Tadae Takubo

【#328】Next Are Constitutional Amendments

Tadae Takubo ／ 2015.09.29 (Tue)


September 24, 2015

　　　　　Assessing a line connecting a series of points would be fairer than checking each point. A series of recent government actions including the creation of the National Security Council, the development of a new defense program outline, the receipt of an advisory panel report tolerating Japan's exercise of rights to collective defense, a cabinet decision endorsing Japan's limited exercise of the rights, the revision of a guideline for Japan-U.S. defense cooperation, and the enactment of national security laws last week indicates the direction in which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is leading Japan. The direction is the development of national security arrangements that Japan had lacked for a long time after World War II.

Limits on national security laws
　　　　　Here, however, I would like to emphasize that what Prime Minister Abe has done was only to correct distortions within the framework of the present Constitution. A strange government explanation about the Self-Defense Forces says, "While the SDF are not military forces domestically, they are internationally viewed as military forces." This explanation may fail to be understood by foreigners. They would roll their eyes when hearing that the SDF are not military forces domestically but so internationally.
　　　　　I doubt if ordinary Japanese citizens have acknowledged that Japan is one of rare countries that have fallen short of specifying the presence of military forces in the constitution as the backbone of the country. Former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida(1878~1967), in his book titled "World and Japan" published in his final years, expressed his concern about the tendency that Japanese were about to use the SDF only for dealing with disasters. The tendency still exists.

LDP should reset itself
　　　　　During the stalled parliamentary debate on the national security bills, I was angered at opposition parties' artful propaganda that falsely labeled the bills as representing "war-oriented bills" or "the revival of the draft system." At the same time, the government and ruling parties failed to effectively respond to the opposition propaganda. We at the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals have heard a government official explaining about the bills. But he only reiterated a fluent interpretation of the bills while failing to demonstrate the mission or eagerness to correct defects of Japan's defense arrangements.
　　　　　Around one week before the vote on the bills in the House of Councilors, I heard that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party had just printed a publicity leaflet for the bills. Under such slow approach, the LDP cannot win a propaganda war. A former SDF officer told the JINF of what the defects of Japan's defense arrangements are, based on his real experiences. Why did the government fail to choose this kind of person as its spokesman speaking to the people?
　　　　　On an Internet television program of JINF President Yoshiko Sakurai on September 18, Prime Minister Abe said the LDP's original objective was to achieve amendments to the Constitution. The remark was encouraging. If politicians choose to refrain from discussing constitutional amendments in consideration of harsh opposition to the national security bills, we will raise objection to such choice. On September 30, our JINF will hold a regular symposium discussing about constitutional amendments because we think we must renew our sense of mission to achieve the goal.
　
Tadae Takubo is Vice President, Japan Institute for National Fundamentals.