Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has laid out a road map to enable Japan to be a "normal state" that can go to war. In a video message delivered to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Japan's pacifist Constitution Wednesday, he expressed hope that a revision to this will take effect in 2020 when the Tokyo Olympics take place.
The conservative leader proposed that the new Constitution clearly define the status of the country's Self-Defense Forces (SDF), the island country's de facto military. He also proposed to keep intact the so-called peace clause of the current Constitution requiring Japan to renounce the use of force in settling international disputes and not to maintain land, sea and air forces. Pundits see Abe's plan to keep the war-renouncing clause as a shrewd calculation to calm skeptics and leave open the possibility of a revision later.
Abe also showed his willingness to have the new Constitution stipulate the expansion of free education. This is seen as a move to open public debate concerning constitutional change by touching on less controversial issues first for later discussions on the key clause.
Not surprisingly, Abe cites Japan's changing security environment arising from China's rise and North Korea's nuclear and missile threats as reasons to push for the constitutional change. One can easily figure out why the Japanese government has hyped escalating tensions over North Korea recently.
Against this backdrop, there are clearer signs that more Japanese support the revision. U.S. President Donald Trump also wants Japan to play a bigger role in Asia's regional security to deter China's advance.
If the SDF wins the official right to exist after the pacifist Constitution is revised, Japan may be able to send its forces to the Korean Peninsula to fight alongside American troops. That is why the resurgence of Japan's militarism is so fearful.
As a defeated nation of World War II, Japan has a duty to contribute to world peace as well as stability in Northeast Asia. There is no question that Abe's constitutional timetable will ramp up regional tension.
The Japanese prime minister should offer a sincere apology first for Japan's wartime atrocities before pushing his constitutional ambition.
The conservative leader proposed that the new Constitution clearly define the status of the country's Self-Defense Forces (SDF), the island country's de facto military. He also proposed to keep intact the so-called peace clause of the current Constitution requiring Japan to renounce the use of force in settling international disputes and not to maintain land, sea and air forces. Pundits see Abe's plan to keep the war-renouncing clause as a shrewd calculation to calm skeptics and leave open the possibility of a revision later.
Abe also showed his willingness to have the new Constitution stipulate the expansion of free education. This is seen as a move to open public debate concerning constitutional change by touching on less controversial issues first for later discussions on the key clause.
Not surprisingly, Abe cites Japan's changing security environment arising from China's rise and North Korea's nuclear and missile threats as reasons to push for the constitutional change. One can easily figure out why the Japanese government has hyped escalating tensions over North Korea recently.
Against this backdrop, there are clearer signs that more Japanese support the revision. U.S. President Donald Trump also wants Japan to play a bigger role in Asia's regional security to deter China's advance.
If the SDF wins the official right to exist after the pacifist Constitution is revised, Japan may be able to send its forces to the Korean Peninsula to fight alongside American troops. That is why the resurgence of Japan's militarism is so fearful.
As a defeated nation of World War II, Japan has a duty to contribute to world peace as well as stability in Northeast Asia. There is no question that Abe's constitutional timetable will ramp up regional tension.
The Japanese prime minister should offer a sincere apology first for Japan's wartime atrocities before pushing his constitutional ambition.
![[INTERVIEW] Virtual K-pop group MAVE: is more than just pretty pixels](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/bcc387606cf7451c94f51a5978960c9f.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Seoul's increased art market momentum brings Sotheby's back to Korea](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/3439cc1e2d744b85ab81fdcf6f045ba5.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] 'Cobweb' director questions meaning of cinema](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/a029c9ea411f4aef94c6310f6a7c3c54.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
