Warmonger! Japan’s Rearming Plans Backfire
Crimson on May 28 2007 at 10:04 pm | Filed under: Japan: Politics
Japan reaches for “Planned-Rearming”
Japan has drawn world attention recently due to efforts aimed at increasing her defensive and offensive military strength. Two of the strongest opponents are South Korea and China. In part due to a poor history stemming from WWII and Japan’s strong connection with America, these countries view an armed Japan as a real threat. They often cite history of the war atrocities that Japan can not be trusted with such power, where as Japan stands to reason her military build-up is only a response to the changing political climate that surrounds the island.
While the history of WWII is precedence, it is not an accurate reflection of the current times in Japan. Despite the blind eye Japan turns towards her past violence, there is little evidence to support the fear that history will repeat itself. The youth of Japan remain largely ignorant of the events leading up to WWII and the propaganda the fuelled the war. Whereas the youth of China and South Korean are constantly reminded of how ‘they’ were harmed by the Japanese, failing to mark the drastic differences between the state fifty years ago and the government that controls now.
Putting things into perspective, one might turn towards more modern times and take a closer look at the motives of China and South Korea keep the status quo. According to Foxnews.com “China announced in March it would boost military spending by 17.8 percent in 2007 to $44.94 billion, the biggest jump in more than a decade. But analysts believe the true figure is several times higher.” The annual Military expenditure of the PRC is 3.8% of China’s total GDP (reported) compare this with Japan’s .8% and it’s easy to argue for Japan’s military expansion goal. South Korea’s expenditure rate is 2.7% (2006) over three times that of Japan, however, South Korea’s GPD remains disproportionally low compared against Japan’s. South Korea’s motive might be entrusted between a North Korean, Japan and South Korean love-hate triangle. For as long as Japan stands weak, then South Korea has grounds to made treaties and keep peace with the North. Should the North feel threatened by Japan, they in turn would threaten South Korea, a major bargaining power provided in influence of China and the US.
The stronghold argument for Japan is balance of power. Japan compares her non-nuclear arsenal against that of China’s 150, North Korea’s 5 and South Korea’s enriched Uranium (IAEA’s report 2004). While there is speculation that the US houses mid-range nuclear weapons on bases within Japan, it is clean Japan has no control of the deployment or action of these. I ask of you, the reader, what makes a better argument; history of actions more than 60 years ago or the current state of being? Should Japan start building now, the most they could obtain is slightly defensive status against the unfathomed powers that rise around them. (This article was inspired by a noteworthy picture on Japanprobe: here)
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34 Responses to “Warmonger! Japan’s Rearming Plans Backfire”
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[...] Update: Crimson has written an editorial inspired by this political cartoon over at Stippy. [...]
Dudes in China and Korea need to read “Jipang,” a manga that reflects the mind of modern JDF (Japan Self Defense Force). That’s where all the answers are and that’s pretty much all I have to say.
To reason that Japan should increase the size and breadth of their military as a response to changing political climates is nothing more than reactionary. These ‘changing’ political climates have been huge military threats for at least the last twenty years.
The truth is probably more based on the fact that international pressure towards Japan and the 9th article of the constitution limiting military prowess has created a yearning to participate on a more influential scale within the UN security council, and on a global stage.
The hostility felt by China and North Korea is much less based on realised military threats, than on the shift of political influence in Asia from a less (US) - biased China, to a nation more in line with the political views of the prevailing West.
South Korea’s protests for the most are basically political linchpins, the underlying anti-Japanese government sentiment a sure fire way to gather political fervor and a seat in government. This anti-Japan sentiment, despite what the news blasts all over Japanese TV, is waining, and the country as a whole is making an effort to move away from the right-wing politics it has forefronted for the last ten years.
What is left for Japan is to realise it’s role as a global leader, and to impliment this role within the limits of tthe UN security council and international law. Though China and Korea may object, their objections should be wieghed against the value of a more diversified UN security council, and a move toward a broader sense of peacekeeping internationally.
Thanks for the additional thoughts Ry.
I see what you mean about South Korea. It seems their underlying motive seems to be based upon with unfounded rhetoric more than sound reasoning. I believe in the long run, once the steam of fear that powers North Korea dwindles, the South will welcome a stronger Japan.
As for China, like you mentioned, the objections are based on more political influence than perceived military power.
Should Japan wish to keep face with her neighbors and still build power, they need to ignore the 9th article of the constitution and just continue their efforts without changing it. The more the toil with amendments and changes, the more others will look down upon it as a shift in political and military strategy. Down the road, Japan’s (and America for that matter) only real hope is to become such an economic power, that any destabilizing action would affect all of Asia.
Again Ry, thanks for taking the time to write up the comment. Regards mate.
I don’t understand the racist stuff that still comes out of China and N and S Korea, that stuff happened well over half a century ago, and they’re still going on about it. Completely different generations, and completely different governments (at least in Japan) make it meaningless. Comparing the mindsets of WW2 victims and perpetrators in Europe and Asia is amazing. In Europe we have formed a group government and nobody of my generation associates modern-day Germany with WW2 Nazi Germany. They’re completely different countries.
While I agree that some aspects of Japan haven’t changed in the same way as Germany has reformed, it seems that the Chinese and Korean governments have changed even less. They still indoctrinate their people with historical propaganda and fuel irrational hate between the countries.
Ignoring the gross hypocrisy regarding armaments (illustrated by the comic), Chinese people should be more concerned about the draconian censorship and corruption of their government. Maybe if there was more freedom of information, they would be able to see a less biased view of history.
Its no secret that the Chinese people are unhappy with their government, and they have a lot of pent-up anger they cannot bring out in the open for fear of retaliation.
To prevent all that anger from boiling over and causing dissent among the populace, the Chinese government needs to direct it elsewhere. Japan just happens to be the nearest available scapegoat. Better to turn the populace’s wrath outside the country and its government than let it cause problems for them down the road.
Does the US really have nukes on Japanese soil? That is kinda scary.
Without wanting to sound off like a conspiracy theorist, rational thought would suggest that it is more likely the US have nukes in Japan than it doesn’t. The same could be said for Israel, which neither confirms nor denies the existence of nukes on their soil.
While Japan likes to follow down the same road with their “3 principles” regarding WMD, one cannot help that this is as good as a cover as Japan tries to convince everyone that their annual slaughter of whales is for “research”. Just an analogy, so go here http://www.stippy.com/japan-culture/scientific-slaughter-japan-and-the-whales/
if you want to rave on about that subject.
Personally I dont really care if Japan arms itself. It’s not likely that there’s going to be a war in East Asia any time soon, as long as China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea are more concerned with economic success than costly military conflict(a la the US in Iraq)
The larger point however is that non-armament is the price that Japan agreed to bear in exchange for generous post-war concessions and support from the rest of the world after WWII. In contrast to the heavy post war price paid by Germany after World War II, Japan was allowed to keep the majority of its military industrial complex to aid in its recovery. It was only due to Japan’s agreement not to militarily rearm or again pose a threat to its neighbors that it was not subject to the same heavy War Crimes procedures that the Americans, British and Israelis extracted from Germans… which included not only the military command structure but industrialists, bankers and others who contributed or benefited from the war. Without agreeing to these conditions the Japan certainly wouldn’t have been allowed to keep its Emperor, any trappings of Imperial prestige and regalia, nor the majority of industrialists which eventually helped lead Japan’s post war economy into the 1970s
That “The youth of Japan remain largely ignorant of the events leading up to WWII” is a reflection of the pacifism dictated to Japan by its conquerors, to ensure that Japan’s own traditional proclivity towards militarism is suppressed in its culture. If Japan wants to rearm, in betrayal of its own post war commitments… for us in America it’s not a big deal… it simply means that Japan will be losing another war 50 years from now. You cannot expect, however, China or Korea to sit blithely by while a country with a long (800 years +) history of warmongering towards its neighbors breaks its obligations.
“In Europe we have formed a group government and nobody of my generation associates modern-day Germany with WW2 Nazi Germany”
Ben, that’s clearly a reflection of specific indoctrination in post war Germany to run away from any lingering responsibility for any crimes during WWII. In the US, there’s a recognition of course that there’s a new goverment but the idea that Germany AS A NATION is responsible and culpable for the horror of WWII is very strong. Particularly among Jews and others who feel that they’ve personally been wronged.
You still see news stories to this day of American Jews still suing German/European banks 60 years after the fact for illicit gains from the war or of paintings seized from German collectors/museums being returned to “rightful” owners who can be grandchildren or neices and nephews of people who once held the pieces prior to WWII. The idea of culpability, harm and responsiblity is very strong in basically every country in the world, save the nations (Japan, Germany) who did the crimes. Who naturally try to discourage honest discussion of any such matters.
Almost every major American city has a prominent Holocaust museum which stresses to schoolchildren that Jews suffered greatly at the hands of German Nazis, and that we must never forget. All this despite the fact that Germans have entirely severed all ties to the historical Nazis, while Japan has continually tried to bury their shame, both to their own grandchildren and the world at large.
as for this: “While I agree that some aspects of Japan haven’t changed … it seems that the Chinese and Korean governments have changed even less”
How the hell do you figure that the “Chinese government [has] changed even less”? You do realize that the Communists rule China? And that after WWII they fought a WAR with the Nationalists who faced Japan during WWII. In fact China has had the TWO most revolutionary WORLDWIDE upheavals of society and government (from democracy to communist back to socialist market economy) during this period where you think “nothing much happened.”
As for Korea, it’s transformed itself in the past 25 years from one of the most repressive into the most open democracy in Asia (surpassing even India as a true multi-party parlimentary democrazy)… while Japan still has the same Imperial family, much of the same industrial complex from the war and even in the past 10 years struggled with the “one party” system which was democracy only in name and held a stranglehold on japanese politics for 40 years
Certainly both China and Korea has problems which can provide rich fodder for critique. But simply making statements about either simply from ignorance makes you sound like a moron
Interesting read..the comments are better than the article!
One note on Chinas military spending…that the US likes to drum up as looming spectre about to get us……Id be interested to see the actual make up of ‘military spending’ as like any military looking to upgrade, the amounts used on R&D are huge (and the trickle down effects in to the private sector benefit the whole country eventualy too) we see the chinese recently constructing facilities for fusion experiments and other projects beneficial to the country at large. These facilities are overseen by the military. Also with the largest army in the world if you gave them all a pay rise, a new suit and repainted their vehicles I bet they choke when they get the bill!
From the propaganda Ive seen on the mainland (another cost …including their own TV station) I can see their military toys are on the whole back dated and to come anywhere near the level of the other major players theyd need way more than a 12% increase……and anyway who cares if your neighbour buys a Ferrari,its only a problem if he hits high speeds in the neighbourhood and knocks over the kids
Now Japan has passed legislation giving them the power to change the constitution without a national referendum we are entering a new phase in Japans evolution. Article 9 is first in line for ammendment.
As Japans economic power slips, the ego searches for survival, and they believe that will come only through maintaining military power in Asia to guarantee the supply of natural resources and technological breakthroughs (once again highest end techno being for /from military uses)
You may remember when oil was hiting crazy peaks earlier in the year due to the Iraq occupation.. Koizumi and Hu Jin Tao both did rush visitis to African countries shaking hands and kissing babies -it was the first time Japanese PM had touched African soil for over 20years….they were on a race to gain influence and get access to the oil rich region…and of course friction arose in the Japan sea over ownership of oil fields……
Japan wants to have the ability to kick ass again …..doesnt mean the wish tio do so as Military upgrade is not about actually using it, its the perceived threat which carrys the most weight.
Japan is paying for a mistake they made many years ago,they shud have apologized as the germans did and gotten hands off the matter.
search “nanjing massacre”on google vids
cheers
The hypocracy of China is amazing. The Chinese complain about any changes to the Japanese military system while at the same time the Chinese increase the size of their military and threaten their neighbors (Taiwan).
China’s reasoning is Japan’s past war attrocities and lack of attonement. It is very simple. THE WAR ENDED OVER 60 YEARS AGO. GET OVER IT ALREADY. The fact is that Japan has expressed regret many times over the years as well as providing and continuing to provide aid to China which absolutely can be considered reparations. By the way, China no longer deserves this aid from Japan or any other country.
as for the first comment of Larry, in fact, after the post-war ocupation, the Americans soon wanted a full rearment of Japan to cooperate in the Korea war, and then…the Japanese goverment said no because of the constitution. They got all the help to reconstruct the economy and do nothing in return (also because the americans thought that the Japanese would never create a competitive economy). Of course they have to accept to be a puppet on international policies and they still have to pay for the americans being here but from a general view they just deceived the americans soo well..
“as for the first comment of Larry, in fact, after the post-war ocupation, the Americans soon wanted a full rearment of Japan to cooperate in the Korea war, and then…the Japanese goverment said no because of the constitution. They got all the help to reconstruct the economy and do nothing in return (also because the americans thought that the Japanese would never create a competitive economy). Of course they have to accept to be a puppet on international policies and they still have to pay for the americans being here but from a general view they just deceived the americans soo well..”
The Constitution was written by the Americans so how were the Americans deceived? The Americans did not want a full rearment of Japan, ESPECIALLY ONLY 5 YEARS AFTER WWII. The Americans wrote the Japanese constitution to prevent a military Japan.
I believe this is drifting more into the realm of Japan’s Constitutional status. However, a major factor plays into both topics, time.
Like the US constitution, the Japanese constitution, was created to preserve a union in a time a crises. The goal was to create a successful and prosperous nation under the guide of a central government.
Like a company’s mission statement, it must be strong enough to provide solid support spanning years of growth, but fluid enough to account for vast shift in powers and economies that support it. In the US the forefathers were BRILLANT in their creation; not only of the constitution, but also the bill of rights. They attached these amendments to correct omissions, shortcomings and alterations from the original document. That allows for a principle likened to bamboo, strong enough to stand the torments of time, yet able to bend freely, without damage to the roots that support it.
In time I will prepare another article on the Japanese constitution and her possible future. There sure be plenty of fuel for the fire for everyone on that topic.
Crimson sounds like a propaganda recording…all that hype and little content…did you copy your comments from school text books or something??
Or maybe, gman, crimson believes what he is writing. Did you ever think of that?
Yes gman, some people actually believe the US Constitution is an incredible document. It has flaws, but it is by far the greatest form of government document in the world.
Gman,
I see where you’re coming from, but that post is more of an advertisement since I want to write something more about it. Being as I don’t know as much on Japan’s constitution, I had little to say.
I fail to see where you get the idea of “propaganda recording.” Propaganda is the use of solid facts and information to persuade one’s thinking, often as indirectly as possible.
And yes! I did get it from a textbook, kind of. My ideas are strongly influenced from “America” by Jon Stewart. Something I would recommend to anyone and believe should be used as a textbook. The book shows just how far removed America is moving from the original doctrines put down years ago.
Ok guys…ill admit that the ideals outlayed in the Constitution are darn good , (mainly as they were influenced by European philosophers)..well ,ok, origin is of no concern to universal ideas…but you gotta agree that its hard for folks to take so seriously when those government leaders themselves openly behave in a manner in direct opposition to those founding documents.
I dont see fault in the documents just the human error in their application. I feel the same way towards the Bible and the Koran etc. I see the words are not at fault but its the followers who stray and make mistakes….anyway im not looking to start a religious debate either.
Defining Propaganda as ” the use of solid facts and information to persuade one’s thinking” is crock of poo…..
propoganda is about people with a certain agenda wishing to influence others..what is presented as solid facts and information is usually the exact opposite.
Its for this reason that I suspect Crimson is still wet behind the ears….if he writes on the Japanese Constitution with a similar mindset Im gunna have a field day in this comment section.
oh but please write another article! dont be put off by jerks like me!
Gman, if you have so much to say, maybe you would like to write an article?
hey well i might just do that ! can anyone post on this site??
Gman,
Of course anyone can post, after all, they let me.
As for my definition for Propaganda, please check the dictionary before you get too carried away. I only found one listing that concerned itself with “false” information. Many others, including the OED, refer to bias or one-sided information. Given; this is misleading, but by no means false. I would recommend the book, ‘Propaganda’ by Bernays, the foreword (Mark Miller) is actually the most informative part. Propaganda is something I have taken a special interest in for a while now, mostly because people skew its underlying meaning. - But again, that’s a different topic.
And you and are on the same page, especially in regards to the religious topics you touched upon. Almost all religious text are good in nature, it’s just people interpretation and application that produces many of the problems.
Please explain what you mean by ‘mindset’ in reference to my article. The overall idea or conclusion?
This is turning out to be a really good debate.
Still, I agree with gman in certain respects. The current US administration shows nothing but contempt for the founding principles of the constitution and continues to do so without hindrance. We have seen that there is little point of a constitution existing if the executive side can dismantle any checks and balances in place except for fomenting a nationalistic brain-dead American populace with “we love freedom and the constitution and they hate our freedom” type one-liners, a perfect example of propaganda.
Crimson …what Im talking about is developing the ability to critically analyse the facts layed before you and weighing them up against what you actually see in the world around you and . Just because its in writing it doesnt make it true. Everything can be made to sound true with careful planning or words. So you have to sift thru the facts , reducing each word to get to the real meaning.
This all depends on your initial standpoint and framework of reference with which you filter out info as truth or just assumption.
At the end of this process you will come to realise that even truth itself is relative and that there are no absolutes in the world as regards ideas (discount concrete physical objects)
reality means that pure ideals do not really plan out as we hope and the result is a compromise….
Im not trying to belittle you in anyway but what I see is an intelligent guy heavily influenced by a certain type of thinking which is not comprehensive and allowing for more possibilities other than what has been given you. Its not your fault , so keep pushing the barriers of understanding. It usually requires is exposing yourself to environments or more books on different ideas which hold a different set of core values as you do your self….If you lived with eskimos youd start to learn that whale meat is damn good!… but the same shift in consciousness can happen closer to home if your curiousity allows it.
One interesting side topic about Japan’s defense is America’s promise of protection. Not just how much material/troops/bases America has in Japan (ready to defend it) but also how much Japan finances that. Most Japanese don’t LIKE the American presence and certainly not the payments to America.. but those payments are in billions per year.. are they counted in Japan’s SDF budget? I’m not trying to debate the whole American military presence as a good or bad thing, but just to compare to the military spending and buildup in Korea and China (and Taiwan).. maybe Japan isn’t as underpowered as it seems if you count the Japanese financing of American military and that actual military presence in Japan itself.
Yes, the American military presence in Japan adds billions of dollars to the effective budget of the Japanese military for their defense and Japanese people should realize that.
However, the American forces in Japan and the billions of dollars in material and expense for those forces, are not just for Japan. It may actually really be a small percentage devoted to Japan interms of defense. The American forces are in Japan to support the American military presence in South Korea as well as potential support in places like Taiwan and the Phillipines as well as the rest of the East Asian region.
thankfully not all Americans are warmongers like Crimson and Jon, pushing for more military strength in the world. Has anyone seen what this guy Steven Leeper is doing? I was a little taken aback at first, but the more I think about it, the more I think it is a great idea. Taking the emotion out of Hiroshima is no easy task but if he can spread the word about daikyujo to people who will listen then he’s worth his weight in gold. Maybe he should talk to gman first to make sure it doesn’t turn into propaganda.
thanks sotei-guy….looked him up….check it here….a good bunch of comments too
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/06/11/1805/
Japan has, like any other country, every right to posses a Normal Army.
Due to dangerous neighbors such as North Korea, Russia and Imperialistic China, this becomes very important.
PS: many countries are genderless such as Japan. So refering to it as “she” is incorrect, because it has no gender. There are also many countries which are officially a “fatherland”.
.. Yet another post of Japan vs. China and Korea. Sheesh. Is it just me or doesn’t it just seem that no one seems to get tired of repeating this subject? I feel that it’s about time to move on with life instead of lingering on the past. What happened in Japan during WWII certainly was a great atrocity, no doubt. However, there are countless other occurrences during history that has shaped history for better or for worse. How often have we heard about the massacres that happened in other parts of Asia such as Vietnam, Laos, or even India? There are plenty of past references for the record that deserve just as much attention. It just so happens that pro-China and pro-Korean bloggers happen to like identifying with the past as if it really happened to them. Come on now, seriously… this is the reality of war and the cost it pays to be on the winning/losing end. As brutal as this may sound, that’s life so get over it. Only when we learn from history itself can we prevent atrocities such as these from happening again. But bickering over it and pointing fingers at Japan just doesn’t seem to be the answer to your problems. So should Japan be able to posses an Army? Well, that all depends on who’s looking at it and from what perspective I suppose.
Its easy to say “get over it and get on with it” and I agree with that approach , but the reality is that theres a hell of a lot of people thaty just dont see it like that and maybe never will…their sense of history and pride in their nation just runs too deep.
So perhaps if we took another view.” Ok the wrong has been done so what can be done to correct it??”
Im from a country which has set historical precedents in returning lands and natural resources to the idegenous people even though the country was taken in the traditional manner of slash n burn then claimed with flag in the name of a king . But 20 years ago people laughed at the thought of trying to turning back the clock of history,it was a ridiculous claim by the natives…so most of middle class white people thought.
Its a messy process and a highly emotional and political issue but maybe these principles in a similar spirit could be applied to an trans-national situation……
South Korea, you have a rather nasty neighbor. It is an isolationist, Orwellian dictatorship with an army about 3 times the size of yours. On the same street, you have an emerging Super-Power with an army that’s awfully similar to your bestest friend’s (Kim Jong Il), only a whole lot more modern and capable of long-term conflict. So, who is the biggest threat to your nation? Oh, right, the EVIL JAPANESE!
If you couldn’t tell, I was being sarcastic.