Japan Press Weekly

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2008 November 5 - 11 [SDF]

Sending SDF helicopters to Afghanistan to assist in war is unconstitutional

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

The Japanese government is aiming to send Ground Self-Defense Force transport helicopters to Afghanistan.

At a House of Councilors Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on October 28, Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu stated that the government is considering establishing “a structure enabling Japan to contribute to international peace cooperation activities” with the dispatch of CH47 transport helicopters.

Sending GSDF helicopters to war zones in Afghanistan means directly supporting the war, which is in violation of the Japanese Constitution. Such an act will give a helping hand to causing civilian casualties.

In order to get out of the quagmire of the Afghan war by reinforcing its military power, the U.S. government is asking its allies to provide more troops and equipment.

The whole of Afghanistan is a combat zone as described by U.S. Army General David McKiernan, commander of the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and NATO coalition forces, “I could not tell you that I could guarantee you there is a place in Afghanistan where there will not be any contact with the enemy.”

The U.S. government is pressing Japan to take part in U.S. military operations by undertaking the transport of U.S. troops and supplies. Airlifting operations with helicopters in Afghanistan war zones is integral to U.S. military actions there.

The Japanese government has stated that any action that is integrated with the use of force by other countries is unconstitutional. The Nagoya High Court judged in April that Japan’s airlifting mission for U.S. forces in Afghanistan which is in a state of armed conflict is “an act integral to foreign countries’ use of force.”

In light of the government’s official position and the court ruling, Japan’s transport support clearly violates the Constitution which prohibits Japan from participating in wars.

Both the Afghan government and the international community have begun moving toward a political solution to the problem. What Japan must do is to play its part in diplomacy, not in supporting the war.