U.S. Deputy State Secretary urges Japan to lift ban on right to collective self-defense

U.S. Deputy State Secretary Richard L. Armitage on September 9 expressed his expectation that Japan's Cabinet Legislation Bureau will end its reluctance to accept the constitutional interpretation in favor of the right to collective self-defense in Japan's Constitution.

Armitage was speaking to Nakayama Taro, chair of the House of Representatives Research Committee on the Constitution, who was visiting the U.S.

In the article entitled "The epicenter of U.S. pressure for Japan's constitutional revision," Akahata on September 11 commented that what Armitage said amounts to blatant interference in Japan's internal affairs.

The paper quoted the 2000 special report Armitage issued before he was assigned to the present post as saying, "Japan's prohibition against collective self-defense is a constraint on alliance cooperation. Lifting this prohibition would allow for closer and more efficient security cooperation."

Last June, Armitage, before the Japanese press, criticized the Japanese government for its weak-kneed attitude toward the use of the right of collective self-defense.

However, it was his great pleasure to learn that Japan's senior government officials began taking concrete actions in response to his statements, he stated recently.

Behind the obstinate U.S. pressures on Japan to use the right of collective self-defense is a U.S. policy of forcing Japan to be more deeply incorporated into its preemptive strike strategy, Akahata warned.

The paper referred to Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro's directive issued to the Liberal Democratic Party to finish drafting a constitutional revision before November 2005, obviously a strong impetus for an adverse revision of the Constitution.

These moves surfaced as a quick response to strong U.S. pressure on Japan heralded by the arrogant Armitage statements, the paper said. (end)