  Japan's military expenditure in 2005 to serve Bush's preemptive attack strategy -- Akahata editorial, January 11In the draft FY 2005 budget, the government has allocated 4,856.3 billion yen for military expenditure. Even with a 20 billion yen cut from the previous year's military budget, the amount is enormous in sharp contrast with deep cuts in expenditures related to social programs. The government is attempting to maintain this budget by forcing the people to pay more. The draft budget causes serious concerns not only because of the amount but because of the items that will allow the Self-Defense Forces to be virtually transformed into armed forces that exist mainly for overseas deployment in contravention of the stated principle of "exclusively defensive defense." Transforming SDF into armed forces for overseas deployment The "National Defense Program Outline" approved by the government last December made a change in the SDF posture into one of corresponding to the U.S. preemptive attack strategy. Defense Agency Director General Ono Yoshinori stated that the agency's major review of the defense program is closely related to the U.S. military "transformation." The military budget for FY 2005 is aimed at promoting the SDF's role abroad and the missile defense program in line with the Outline. The Defense Agency proposes maintaining a 155,000-strong Ground SDF, an increase of one thousand from its present strength. However, the "National Defense Outline" states that chances of a full-scale invasion is very low in areas surrounding Japan. DA Director General Ono stated on December 20, "The probability of a traditional war between countries has become very low." It is illogical for the government to say on the one hand that there is no country that might invade Japan and on the other hand calls for an increase in the standing army. The SDF personnel (amounting to over 260,000) and offensive weapons arsenal should be drastically reduced. The government, however, is going to maintain and further build up its military strength in the world in order to transform the SDF to meet the U.S. Bush administration's request for the SDF to fight wars abroad as their main duty. If Japan routinely sends SDF units abroad, as it does in Iraq, it will require much more SDF personnel to establish rotations. The Defense Agency calls for assigning an additional 200 personnel to the Joint Staff Council Office, which will be established this year to carry out the planning and guidance of SDF units participating in Japan-U.S. joint operations outside of Japan. All this will need enormous amounts of taxes for salaries and supplies. In order to support SDF dispatches abroad, the draft budget includes the following items: 24.8 billion yen for the ASDF's 4th mid-air oiler; 78 billion yen for the development of the next transport aircraft; 17.3 billion yen to improve the communication capabilities of Maritime SDF fleets sent abroad; and 14.6 billion yen (up 1.1 billion yen from FY 2004) for the continued deployment of SDF troops in Iraq for another year. The government also wants to spend 119.8 billion yen for "missile defense," including the purchase of U.S.-made SM3 missiles for MSDF Aegis ships as well as Japan-U.S. joint research. Japan will be assigned, as part of the U.S. Bush administration's Missile Defense project, to defend U.S. military bases in Japan from possible missile attacks. Japan will help the U.S. in launching a preemptive attack. Japan is trying to keep deploying the SDF abroad and participate in the MD project in violation of the Constitution and even the SDF Law. Military budget must be cut drastically The National Defense Program Outline explains that the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty setup is necessary to counter "new threats" to Japan that include terrorist and ballistic missile attacks. However, now that the bilateral security treaty has been applied to anywhere in the world, the program should be regarded as a source of increased military tension in Asia and the rest of the world. These defense policies not only contradict the peace Constitution but go against the world's demand for peace. Let us drastically cut military expenditures and use the money to improve people's living conditions. (end) |