Japan's pacifism fading as voters head for the polls

[dArKeR]

Even before the votes are cast in Japan's election on Sunday, one thing is clear: the pacifism that has defined the security debate since the nation's defeat in World War Two is fading.

Nearly six decades after Japan renounced the right to ever go to war again, a growing number of politicians from both the dominant ruling and opposition parties think it's time to shed the constraints of the US-drafted pacifist constitution.

More startling in the only nation ever to suffer nuclear attacks, cabinet ministers who once feared for their jobs if they broke the nuclear taboo now say with impunity that there may come a time when Japan should consider having its own nuclear arms rather than relying solely on an alliance with the US.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2003/11/07/2003074941

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. First of all, this is the Taipei Times

and Taiwan, like all of Japan's neighbors, has long-standing historical issues with Japan.

You have to understand that Japan is practically a one-party state, a situation that has created widespread political apathy. There are opposition parties, but because of gerrymandering, it is difficult for them to gain power nationwide. The ruling party (LDP) earns the votes of rural residents through pork barrel spending and keeping the cities (which are more liberal--Kyoto has even had a Communist local government at times) under-represented.

Even if the people are dissatisfied with the LDP, they don't see any indication that the opposition parties would a) make any substantial difference, or b) be competent to govern. Therefore, they mostly either vote for the LDP or stay home. (Japan's electoral turnout is nearly as bad as that of the U.S.)

I think that the part about Japan rejecting the pacifist Constitution has to do with increasing dissatisfaction about the huge U.S. military presence. There are three U.S. military bases in the Tokyo area alone, four on the relatively small island of Okinawa, and three others at Sasebo, Iwakuni, and Misawa. The Okinawans in particular are tired of the overwhelming U.S. presence and the bad behavior of the military personnel. The idea of Japan taking charge of its own defense is undoubtedly attractive to people who feel as if the 1945-52 Occupation never ended.

As far as atomic weapons are concerned, it's sad but true that Japan has its own freeper equivalents and always has. There are some scary people in the current LDP, but they don't seem to be in the mainstream.