Japan Press Weekly

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2014 December 17 - 23 [POLITICS]

Stop working to revise Japan-US Defense Guidelines

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

The Japanese and U.S. governments have announced that they will postpone a revision of the current Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation Guidelines until next spring. Against the backdrop of this move is Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s aim to make the revision more consistent with security-related bills which the Abe government is planning to submit in the ordinary Diet session early next year. The revision’s purpose is to enable Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to wage wars abroad together with the U.S. military.

The Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee (SCC), consisting of the two nations’ foreign and defense ministers, agreed in October last year to amend the Guidelines by the end of this year. An interim report published by the two governments in October this year stated that a revised defense pact will “appropriately reflect” the Abe Cabinet decision which allows Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense. The report indicated a policy to lift the geographical restrictions on the SDF’s activities abroad and permit them to enter “combat zones” to provide logistic support to U.S. troops. However, the work to prepare bills based on the controversial cabinet decision is not making much progress due to the recent snap general election.

It is a matter of grave concern that shortly after the election PM Abe again expressed his intent to give the cabinet decision legal force. The ruling coalition plans to push ahead with a revision of the bilateral defense deal and passage of security-related measures into law following the nationwide local elections scheduled for next April.

The ruling parties’ “victory” in the Lower House election does not mean that the Japanese people gave approval to the cabinet decision and related legislation.

An opinion poll conducted by Kyodo News soon after the general election shows that 55.1% of the respondents oppose the Abe administration’s security policies, including the reinterpretation of the pacifist Constitution to legalize Japan’s use of the collective self-defense right.

The SCC’s latest statement stressed that the amendment to the Guidelines will “make positive contributions to the Asia-Pacific region and beyond”. This shows that the two governments are aiming to build a new framework that enables the SDF to fight in wars alongside the U.S. on a global scale.

The year 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Turning Japan back into a war-capable nation runs counter to the bitter lessons taught by recent history. The need now is to further strengthen the public movement opposing the revision of the Guidelines as well as legitimization of the unconstitutional cabinet decision.


Past related article:
> Revision of Japan-US defense guidelines would allow SDF to join in wars abroad [October 9, 2014]