Dear cj, Those of us who know about "The Clash of Civilizations" (SP Huntington) have know for some time that Japan would be rearming - since it has been designated a 'core power' by the NWO regime. In addition, elite planers have been looking to Japan to balance China geopolitically. Japan became pacifist after WWII because the US-run postwar global regime forced it to; Japan is now giving that up because the global regime has shifted. There is no power vacuum in Asia - not any more than there has been since the end of WWII. And a "new nationalism" is something that is generated from the top via propaganda, not something that sponataneously determines government policy. rkm ============================================================================ From: "Int'l Network on Disarmament and Globalization" <•••@••.•••> To: "MIL-CORP" <•••@••.•••> Subject: [mil-corp] Japan is abandoning its pacifism. Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 11:39:03 -0800 X-Priority: 3 MIME-Version: 1.0 Sender: •••@••.••• Network members, Below is a disturbing commentary on Japan's new military policies. Driven by a power vacuum in Asia and the need to protect its economic interests, Japan is mounting an increasingly aggressive military stance. This is also fueled by a new nationalism - especially in young people (I can't believe that the author discusses the cartoon Star Blazers. Any other Generation Xers out there remember that TV show besides me?). Steve Staples **************** http://www.stratfor.com/asia/commentary/m0001250135.htm 0135 GMT, 000125 – Japan Rising From Its Pacifism Stratfor Commentary The Japanese Parliament announced Jan. 21 that it will begin a formal, five-year review of its constitution. The document, penned under the auspices of U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur after Japan's defeat in World War II, renounces the use of force to resolve international disputes. The announcement of the document's review came just days after a panel of advisors to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi recommended that the nation should not sit content with "a course of unilateral pacifism." Until recently, the Japanese population has considered the country's pacifist constitution indisputable. The new review reveals that Japan has undeniably moved past the taboo against questioning Japan's pacifism. The nation is realizing that its U.S. guardian may lose interest now that Japan's strategic relationship with the United States is changing. Rather than being a valuable, if costly, asset for the containment of Russia, Japan is now a business competitor with as much potential to destabilize as to stabilize Asia. As well, Japan has realized that to protect its interests in the Asian power vacuum, it must remain one of Asia's major players — not only economically and politically, but also militarily. Beneath the larger strategic level, Japan has had many tactical excuses in recent years to reevaluate its current defense policy. For example, Japan was unable to join in the U.N. effort in the Gulf War, except by contributing money and minesweepers. In the December 1996 hostage crisis at the Japanese Embassy in Peru, Tokyo was hamstrung and the incident dragged on for more than three weeks. The Japanese resolve was again tested in 1998, when North Korea tested ballistic missiles in Japanese waters. And then last September, the clash in East Timor brought Asian nations into action, despite their traditional policy of non-interference. Japan's current defense guidelines made it all but impossible for its troops to participate. The changing political and social climate has not been immediate. Many signs have emerged over the past year. The most notable was the revision in the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) guidelines to allow Japan to move beyond territorial waters to provide rear-area logistical and search and rescue support to the United States. If George W. Bush is elected in the 2000 U.S. presidential elections, that trend could accelerate. In the Jan.-Feb. issue of Foreign Affairs, one of Bush's foreign policy advisors recommended that Tokyo increase its role in East Asian Security, again in concert with Washington. Other factors suggest that Japan is gearing up for a more assertive regional role. In December 1999, the military requested budget allocation for an in-air refueling aircraft – an item on its agenda since 1996 – arguing that it would cut noise pollution. These planes would give Japan the capability to attack foreign territory, clearly contradicting the country's pacifist stance. Again, the proposal was rejected, but only after a struggle that pitted the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Liberal Party against certain members of the LDP and the New Komeito. The military will restate the request when the fiscal 2001 budget comes up for discussion. But there is yet another harbinger to Japan's rising militarism: a new generation coming into its adulthood. More than 60 percent of the population is now under 50 years old, born after the end of World War II. Nearly 30 percent is under 25 and knows the war only through grandparents' memories. Japan's youngest citizens live with a burden unknown to their parents. The job security, protected markets and national security subsidized by the United States at the height of the Cold War have suddenly disappeared. Unlike their parents, this generation looks forward to an uncertain future — and knows only a Washington that is unwilling to bail them out. The younger members of the population are also responsible for a recent resurgence in nationalism, a trend that is easily evident in the nation's media. Many of the current generation grew up watching Anime "Space Cruiser Yamato," a popular Japanese cartoon known in the United States as Star Blazers. In the cartoon, the protagonists dredge up the sunken Japanese World War II battleship Yamato and refurbish it as a spacecraft to save all Earth. More recently, in the film-length Anime "Silent Service," the crew of a joint U.S.-Japanese nuclear submarine declares its sovereignty as an independent nation, provoking the two nations to prepare for battle. The country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) – a strong advocate of constitutional review – seems intent on speeding up the transfer of power to the younger generations. The LDP has proposed an age limit of 80 for representing the party in parliament and would like to see the new legislation approved before the next general election, set for sometime before October 2000. The legislation would bring an abrupt end to the terms of some of the party's leading politicians. As an LDP political reform official said, the move would "give a clear message that the LDP is eager to rejuvenate," reported The Associated Press. The proposal will likely meet a great deal of resistance. Nevertheless, it draws attention to the upcoming and inevitable transfer of power to a more youthful set of legislators — and a younger electorate. Without a doubt, Japan is preparing to move past the onus of World War II and resume operations as a "normal" nation, with the will and wherewithal to protect its interests – eventually, without U.S. assistance. The change, especially sweeping symbolic statements like constitutional review, will take years. Japan will have to weigh its new assertive nature carefully against the suspicion sure to emerge from its neighbors. Nevertheless, its unnatural "unilateral pacifism" will some day be a remnant of the past. Related Stories: Japan: Nuclear Comments Clear Way For Defense Debate Japan's North Korea Stance Tied to Defense Debate ____________________________________________________________________ International Network on Disarmament and Globalization 405-825 Granville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 1K9 CANADA tel: (604) 687-3223 fax: (604) 687-3277 •••@••.••• www.indg.org To subscribe to the e-mail list, send an e-mail to mailto:•••@••.••• SUBSCRIBE mil-corp "FirstName LastName" <•••@••.•••> as the first and only line in the message body. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Richard K Moore Wexford, Irleand Citizens for a Democratic Renaissance email: •••@••.••• CDR website: http://cyberjournal.org cyberjournal archive: http://members.xoom.com/centrexnews/ A community will evolve only when the people control their means of communication. -- Frantz Fanon Permission for non-commercial republishing hereby granted - BUT include and observe all restrictions, copyrights, credits, and notices - including this one. .
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