In the contemporary world, Japan is again following its policy of remilitarization and is endlessly arming its armed forces. Japan is also a part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad, and has covert as well as overt geopolitical ambitions.
Introduction
It is quite an irony that Japan is rapidly enhancing its military capabilities, and while keeping in view its defence spending, it seems that it has opted for re-militarization. However, Japan’s post-Second World War constitution strictly prohibits the Japanese people and government from resorting to military means to settle disputes. The Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution overtly states that:
“Aspiring 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 a 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.”
By looking at the Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution, it re-militarization and military modernization is absolutely unthinkable.
Japan’s Newest Induction of Weapons
Since the end of the Second World War, Japan has been behaving as a colony of the United States, and its entire society, foreign policy, and politics are being dictated by the West. Similarly, all the weapon acquisitions made by Japan are strictly aimed to benefit the US and its enduring war machine. Japan will acquire more F-35A fighter aircrafts, Tomahawk cruise missiles, Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missiles Extended Range (JASSM-ER) for its existing F-15 fighter aircraft, MQ-9B drones, V-BAT drones, and advanced Patriot air defense missiles to name a few. Besides these, Japan is also planning to acquire communication and reconnaissance systems from the US to upgrade its military capabilities.
Japan’s Alliances, Agreements, and Defence Cooperation
Japan has a unique place in the US Indo-Pacific Strategy and is closely collaborating with the West to enhance its relative power capabilities. Japan became a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad, in 2007, and since then, it has been playing a very important role in the Quad. Its main objective is to counter Russia, China, and North Korea in the West Pacific and put a military check on these countries. In 2008, Japan signed Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation with India, and in 2015, Japan signed the Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of the Republic of India Concerning Security Measures for the Protection of Classified Military Information. In 2017, Japan signed Athe Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of the Republic of India for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, and in 2020, Japan signed the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) with India. In all these security related agreements, the Japanese government focused on enhancing its military capabilities and defence capacity. However, these agreements were nothing but reflections of Japan’s growing in-security and in-capacity to face regional challenges. Japan’s growing in-security is in fact the crimes and horrors it committed in the past. Japan is also a member of the G-20, G-7, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Conclusions
A researcher from Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, a US-based think ttank, noted that “Japan is facing the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II.” However, this strategic fear of Japan needs to be interpreted independently. First, Japan surrendered the Kuril Islands during the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951 and being a revisionist state, Japan aims to forcefully take back the Kuril Islands from Russia. Second, throughout history, Japan invaded China and took the territory and sowed the seeds of hatred. Now, the Japanese leadership under the US influence tries to inflict fear on the hearts and minds of its people regarding China. Third, the Japanese killed thousands, if not millions, of innocent Koreans and helped create the bifurcation that exists to this day. Now, Japan fears a reprisal from North Korea for the crimes it committed during the twentieth century. The Japanese are simply being haunted by the crimes and horrors they committed in the past, and they name it as a severely complex security situation.
Japan is moving in the wrong direction, and history will prove that Japan is again on the wrong side of history. Its strategic fears are a bunch of illusions, and the foundation of such fears lies in its blind following of the US.
Simon Westwood – is a Masters student at the Dublin City University (DCU), Ireland. He is also a Research Assistant at the DCU’s Department of History
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