Summary
Japanese
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s determination to revise
the Constitution of Japan, including Article 9, will
jeopardize the country’s contribution to peace
without force. The government is hoping to pass a bill
calling for referendum for the Constitution revision by 3
May 2007, which marks the 60th Anniversary of the
Japanese Constitution. The bill has already been passed
by the lower house of the Parliament on 13 April 2007. If
the revision is made, the Constitution will permit the
country to maintain de jure military forces.
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution has played an
active role in promoting peace. The Article states that
the “right of belligerency of the state will not be
recognized”. Its significance exceeds merely not
waging war against other countries: its rationale has
developed other relevant policies, such as the Three
Principles on Arms Export, a progressive principle that
recedes weapon trade.
At this critical time, there are already observations of
invasion of rights within the country, particularly
freedom of speech. According to a local source, public
servants and teachers of public schools are prohibited
from expressing opinions on the Constitution or they can
be sanctioned by administrative measures.
The Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace and
other secular organizations are actively soliciting
opposition against the proposed bill. Organizations like
Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict
has launched a global campaign raising concern in other
countries.
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Action Requested
Please send letter to urge the
Japanese authorities to withdraw the bill, which
among others, calls for amending Article 9 of its
Constitution.
Sign your name at Global Article
9 campaign under the section “Support
Article 9”: http://www.article-9.org/en/index.html
(To view support from like-minded
individuals, you may enter “voices”
section.)
| Send
letters to: |
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Honourable
Prime Minster Abe Shinzo
2-3-1 Nagata-cho Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 100-0014
Japan
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Fax: Email:
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+81-3-3581-3883 Through Prime Minister Office
webpage
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| Send
copies to: |
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Show your solidarity to the Japanese Catholic
community in the drive by sending a blind copy
(BCC) to:
Bishop Michael Goro Matsuura
President, Japan Catholic Council for Justice and
Peace
2-10-10 Shiomi,
Koto-ku, Tokyo,
Japan 135-8585
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Fax: Email:
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+81-3-5632-7920 jccjp@cbcj.catholic.jp
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| Diplomatic representatives of Japan in your
country. |
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Sample
Letter
Honourable Prime Minister,
We are writing to congratulate you on the peace
effort that Japan has made to the world in the
past 60 years. The country’s sincere
aspiration to contribute to international peace
stipulated in Article 9 of your Constitution has
contributed greatly to the well-being of
humankind. It is unfortunate and sarcastic that
the government attempts to sweep its noble
contribution by attempting to revise Article 9 of
the Japanese Constitution through the recent
referendum bill.
The significance of Article 9 exceeds merely
playing a passive role in war-waging. Indeed, its
rhetoric has translated into other policies, such
as the Three Principles on Arms Export, which
actively promote international peace by receding
weapon trade. Moreover, Article 9 further
strengthens Article 26 of the United Nation
Charter, which stipulates minimization of the
world’s resources to be used for military
purposes.
With such noble contribution, Japan, the second
largest economy in the world, is well-positioned
to demonstrate the role model of a great power:
with strength and perseverance to stand on
righteous ground and to build peace without the
exertion of force. Therefore, we eagerly urge
your government to relinquish the proposed bill
altogether.
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Background
Article 9
has been part of the country’s Constitution since
1945, as required by the United States after Japan’s
surrender in the same year. According to the Article,
Japan aspires “sincerely to an international peace
based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever
renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the
threat or use of force as means of settling international
disputes. In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding
paragraph, land, sea and air forces, as well as other war
potential, will never be maintained. The right of
belligerency of the state will not be recognized.”
The Constitution restrained the establishment of armed
forces, except strictly for self-defense. Japan maintains
Self-Defense Forces (SDF), the national security arm.
The distressing bill is one of the latest moves by the
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s government to achieve
assertive foreign policy since taking office in 2006. In
January 2007, the Japan Defence Agency was upgraded to
the Ministry of Defence. The move will be followed by a
long list of defence bill: Japan is accelerating the
deployment of its missile defence system as part of an
elaborate US$8.5 billion plan. It is also in the process
of replacing its ageing fleet of nearly 300 fighter jets
at the cost of US$128 million to US$200 million each.
Supporters of the bill observed that the revision will
make it easier for Japan to pursue collective
self-defense and integrate the SDF into multilateral
frameworks, similar to SDF’s first overseas
deployment without a UN agreement to Iraq in 2004.
Article 9 as a Catalyst for Peace
Many policies and principles of Japan are based on
Article 9. The Three Principles on Arms Export, for
example, generally prohibiting the export of arms and
weapons, is a progressive principle which does not have
any other precedent in the world. Japan, with its
experiences of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also has the
Non-Nuclear Three Principles, which prohibits the
possession, production and introduction of nuclear
weapons into its territory. These various principles have
played an important role in the establishment of trust
relationships between Japan and the people of Asia and
the Pacific, and the international community.
With Article 9 and the above-mentioned principles, Japan
strengthens the peace principle of the United Nations by
restraining arms race. The UN Charter calls for a
peaceful resolution to conflicts: its Article 26
stipulates the minimization of the world’s resources
to be used for military purposes. Any revision or
abandonment of Article 9 is directed to the erosion of
such principles of peace, along with raising concern for
threat to the security of the Asia Pacific region.
Source:
Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace
Global Article 9 Campaign
Ministry of Defence of Japan
United Nation
Wikipedia on Japan Self-Defence
Force
The Weekly Standard, on-line
features of The Weekly Standard, Washington
Financial Times
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