Readers need to be reminded that Japan does not have a “military”. According to Article 9 of the Constitution, forced upon Japan by the American military, 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.” There are a few other countries that have abolished their militaries—but they are not anywhere near North Korea, Red China or Russia.
How Japan signals her turn to post-war pacifism really depends on circumstances. On one hand, despite being within Russian bomber range, Japan tagged along NATO and the US in condemning Russia’s special military operation to liberate majority Russian territory from eastern Ukraine. The fourth largest economy[1] slapped a few more asset freezes on Russia recently[2], on top of previous sanctions on natural resources as demanded by the US,[3] despite having no crucial natural resources herself. Except for anime and kawai things. (But not for long.[4])
On the other hand, being far away from the Middle East, Japan called out yet again, along with most other countries on the planet, for an end to the current war of annihilation in Gaza and for Palestine to join the UN as a full member.[5] Here, Japan’s positions are antithetical to those of the US—Japan’s position should be and will always be under her American master. The US has survived countless Security Council and General Assembly resolutions aimed at its little gallant Middle Eastern ally and will do so in the future.
Flashes of independent thinking within Japan regarding her own national interest are few and far between. The US Occupation and its constitution effectively neutered Japanese domestic politics. What took its place is a cosmopolitan, mass-consumerism democracy. By the way, Japan, don’t you know, is an “immigrant nation”.[6] The common Japanese person will chuckle at the juxtaposition, of “immigrant” and “nation”, but the media and industrial elites flatly believe this.[7] If you have not converted to their way of thinking, you will: soon.
These thoughts set up a little news item: the head of the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF), Ryo Sakai, “intends to resign” following the uncovering of extremely sloppy handling of secrets by his sailors related to defense and foreign affairs.[8] We are told that secret materials have been assigned to unqualified people and that “the illegal practices could have continued for nearly 10 years. [sic]”
What Chief of Staff Sakai “intends” to do is not exactly clear, though, given other media saying that he is “eyeing resignation” and that he is “considering resigning.” As a member of the MSDF bureaucracy, he’ll resign as a flag officer and keep his pension; that is the way. Over 70 years ago, disgraced Japanese military officers knew that there was only one way out, on dishonoring your uniform and your organization.[9]
The wet-behind-the-ears Defense Minister, Mr. Minoru Kihara, plans to “punish those involved, including senior officers.”[10] We can expect action “in the near future.” Another scandal, involving alleged bribery of MSDF officers and Kawasaki Heavy Industries was recently disclosed.[11] This has been going on “for years.” Our rambunctious Minister said that “[the scandal] is a serious issue that needs to be dealt with strictly.” Perhaps those who accepted bribes will be tried and punished “in the near future.” More likely, those found taking bribes will be given the opportunity to resign—with full pension, of course.
The MSDF is not the only Article 9 bureaucracy that has discipline problems. Men of the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) appear to have difficulty keeping their hands to themselves.[12] To reduce sexual harassment, the SDF should end its little social engineering experiment and keep women out of combat units. However, like the rest of modern Japan, this will not happen “in the near future.”[13] What will happen is more social engineering, if there is anyone left to staff the SDF, and heightened reliance on the Americans to do the killing and dying.[14]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)
[2] https://sanctionsnews.bakermckenzie.com/japan-strengthens-sanctions-against-russia-in-response-to-circumvention-of-earlier-sanctions/
[3] https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/us-sanctions-on-russian-lng-threaten-japan-gas-security-push/48947588
[4] https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/idols-south-korea-japan. https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/04/a5d8f386d92d-n-koreans-worked-on-japanese-us-anime-shows-report-says.html
[5] https://www.un.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/yamazaki050124.html
[6] https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240507/p2a/00m/0op/020000c
[7] https://mankindquarterly.org/archive/issue/44-3/10 The word “nation” has lost its previous meaning, as an autonomous state of peoples defined by shared ethno-cultural links.
[8] https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15335176
[9] https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/1995/august/general-who-would-not-eat-grass
[10] https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Japan-Maritime-Self-Defense-Force-chief-eyeing-resignation Kihara has been Defense Minister just under a year. He has never served in the military.
[11] https://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2024070500628
[12] https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2023/12/91557eb0b78a-3-ex-sdf-members-convicted-in-high-profile-sexual-indecency-case.html
[13] https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15264381
[14] https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/defense-security/20230804-127287/