Koizumi's likely successor pledges end to pacifism

[TexasLawyer]

Koizumi's likely successor pledges end to pacifism
By David McNeill in Tokyo

Published: 02 September 2006

The front-runner to become Japan's next leader, Shinzo Abe, formally launched his election campaign yesterday with a controversial pledge to revise the country's pacifist constitution and beef up defence.

The hawkish 51-year-old Chief Cabinet Secretary is the runaway favourite to replace Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi when he steps down at the end of this month, after five eventful years in office.

The election on 20 September will decide the future presidency of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which carries with it the post of Japan's prime minister.

"The day has finally come," a smiling Mr Abe said yesterday before outlining a right-leaning agenda that will please his conservative base, but trouble China and South Korea.

<snip>

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1269454.ece

[CatholicEdHead]

1. I listen to Radio Australia and Radio National (au)

podcasts and have heard rumblings of this. This is start of 1930's Japan coming back.

/also heard this on KQED's Pacific Time podcast

[Divine Discontent]

4. well if this is true....

then I fully advocate Bush preventing Japan's eventual re-attack upon American soil, and bombing them into the sea! Hey, he's got a responsiblity to protect us from fanatic gov'ts hell bent on violence, as Japan obviously is - as Bush has said, we have to prevent the fascist governments early on.

:sarcasm:

[tocqueville]

5. leave that job to China, sarcasm aside

the Chinese will NEVER tolerate a rise of Japanese militarism again. And they are going probably to show it at an early stage. The worse is that the neocons are probaly going to back Japan anyway...

[Ignacio Upton]

10. This isn't the militarist Japan of Tojo we're talking about here

And considering the threat that China and North Korea pose, Japan has every right to be concerned about its security.

[David__77]

19. China poses no threat to anyone.

It has a model foreign policy of non-interference, non-aggression and friendly relations. It has no foreign bases.

[booley]

21. Uhh what about Tibet?

I think a lot of Tibetans would disagree with that assement

[ShortnFiery]

25. Yes, that's exactly what this World needs ...

A warmongering Japan. :puke: :thumbsdown:

[Art_from_Ark]

16. Japan is a lot different now than it was in the '30s

'30s-- The emperor was considered a god.
Today-- No one except a few wackos would think that.

'30s-- Most Japanese were dirt farmers and life was hard.
Today-- Most Japanese are middle class and life is relatively easy.

'30s-- Japan had never suffered a major military defeat since being "opened" by Matthew Perry in 1854.
Today-- There are still many Japanese who remember the horrible devestation they suffered during WWII.

'30s-- It was easy to find recruits to bring honor and glory to the Empire via military excursions.
Today-- The military is not a career choice for the vast majority of Japanese.

'30s-- Racism against Japan was rampant in Europe and North America.
Today-- Japan is one of the most respected countries in the world.

[Ignacio Upton]

20. Some feared a re-united Germany after the Cold War

Instead the Germans have been one of our closest allies. Having a re-armed Japan shouldn't scare us. Instead, it could allow for us to reduce our troop presence in the area.

[TexasLawyer]

2. A "shoo-in"

according to this article...

Sep 1, 2006

Japan firmly on a conservative path
By Hisane Masaki

TOKYO - Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, now widely believed to be a shoo-in to succeed Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in September, has made it clear, if ever there was any doubt, that he will pursue an ultra-conservative, nationalistic and pro-US political and foreign-policy agenda.

<snip>

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/HI01Dh01.html

[leesa]

3. I see Japam hasn't learned anything from the fiasco created by

the warmongering conservatives. Dumb asses.

[MADem]

6. Actually, I'll bet there's more going on here than just that

Our defense budget is stretched thin with all this Eye-rack shit, and Japan costs us a BUNDLE. They have a self-defense force, but we provide their security (and have a bunch of bases over there as well).

If they take over their own defense, that's a ton of dough and assets that we can pour into Eye-rack, see....!!!

It's a shame. They've done the pacifist thing since the end of WW2. It enabled them to do some whizbang things with their economy, not having to spend a king's ransom on bombs and bullets...

[Boo Boo]

7. Guys like Abe can also point to N. Korea, and the perception that the US

is unable to respond, in order to justify the push for an end to pacifism. When N. Korea tests its missiles they aim them at Japan, they just don't put enough fuel in them to get them all the way there. N. Korea is overtly threatening Japan with Nuclear weapons, and the predictable effect has been a rightward shift in Japanese politics. Japanese voters feel threatened. Works the same way here in the US.

Political commentators, and even the head of a major corporation, have been attacked by Japan's militaristic right wing in retaliation for speaking out against them. By attacked, I mean they've had their homes burned down. The head of Fuji-Xerox was the victim of an attempted bombing after speaking out against the rising militarism in Japan. Since then he's kept his mouth shut.

But, yeah, I think Rumsfeld is fool enough to encourage Japan to take a larger role in regional security as a way of reducing US commitments, intimidating China and N. Korea (as if), and selling boatloads of equipment and technology to Japan.

I expect Japan will join the Nuclear Club before too long. It's sort of accepted that Japan is, in a way, already a member---they haven't actually built a bomb, but they have the capability.

US weakness is making the World an increasingly dangerous place.

[MADem]

9. It's certainly depressing, isn't it? NT

[PaulaFarrell]

24. I read it just the opposite

As Japan has been slowly revising its pacifist stance, N. Korea has become worried and thus fires off its test missiles as a warning to Japan. N Korea knows that China would not rescue it in the current day and age if it meant confrontation with its biggest trading partner, and N Korea is effectively on its own. Japan brutally occupied Korea for 35 years in the 20th century, and tried to wipe out Korean culture. Even if Japan has effectively renounced its militaristic ways, a country as culturally isolated and paranoid as N. Korea is unlikely to recognise that - and memories of invasion take more than 60 years to die out.

[TexasLawyer]

8. very astute MADem

I'm sure that's part of the backstory.

[MisterP]

11. oo, his "royal" grandfather had police arrest opposition MPs

so his precious defense treaty could pass

[Reckon]

12. It sounds as though

Japan is seeing the same M$M brainwashing fascism as we are.

"The day has finally come"... We can only hope not, but I believe it has.

[lumpy]

13. Is Japan still limited in how much military buildup

allowed according to their constitution drawn up after WW2?

[Art_from_Ark]

17. Technically, the Constitution does not allow for military build-up

for overseas wars of aggression, but it has been interpreted to mean that Japan can have its own self-defense forces. Japan is currently #4 or #5 in the world in military spending.

[CatholicEdHead]

22. I have heard there are many ammedments

that have been proposed to repeal this.

[Art_from_Ark]

23. Yeah, RW wackos are trying to amend or repeal the pacifist provision

although they would be hard-pressed to find recruits to sign up for an overseas military campaign.

In a way, it is unfortunate that Mr. Abe, the "shoo-in" for the next Prime Minister, grew up only in an era of prosperity when all that nasty stuff from the war was cleared away and there were few remaining reminders of the devestation the war brought to his country.

[Algorem]

14. tora,tora,uh-oh.

[robcon]

15. This should be the signal for the U.S. military to leave Japan.

We don't need anyone there... it's just a remnant of WWII occupation, and should end ASAP. We should use this excuse - and leave.

[David__77]

18. S.Korea should take the lead in strenuously opposing this.

The Asian countries that were victimized by Japanese militarism and genocidal war should unite to oppose this. Japan must not be allowed to rearm in this manner - if it does, it will surely emerge as a bully and tyrant yet again.

[TroubleMan]

26. A growth based economy needs imperialism to prop it up.

It's hard to maintain an economy like that when there's no colonies to exploit. Nowadays a big military is used to protect (or enforce) your financial interests abroad.