Word: japanism
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...like to keep Prince Pickles in mind as Japan inches closer to revising its pacifist constitution, adopted during the American occupation after World War II. On April 13, the ruling coalition, led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), pushed through legislation in the Diet's lower house that set ground rules for updating Japan's basic laws to reflect 21st century realities. The bill now resides in the upper house; passage could eventually lead to a national referendum on the future of the constitution's Article 9, which prohibits Japan from waging...
...peacekeeping operations, closer cooperation with the U.S., and perhaps the acquisition of offensive weapons such as cruise missiles. It would also fulfill a goal the LDP has held since it was established in 1955. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made constitutional amendment the cornerstone of his young administration, declaring that Japan must "slough off the postwar regime." That kind of talk sets off alarm bells for critics who view any easing of military limits as the beginning of a backslide into wartime aggression. (Former Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew memorably summed up these fears years ago when he said that allowing...
...Over the past year Japan's neighborhood has become more dangerous. North Korea conducted missile and nuclear tests; China's defense spending increased nearly 18% to $45 billion. Yet there has been no obvious shift in public sentiment favoring the unshackling of the military. A poll by the Yomiuri Shimbun last month found that 46% of Japanese supported constitutional change. That's slightly higher than the 39% who said they were opposed to change, but it was nine points down from 2006, making this the third consecutive year of declining support...
...there won't be, as long as Japan rests snugly beneath the U.S. security umbrella as it has for over 60 years. The country is defended not so much by the SDF as it is by American jets, ships and nukes. Tokyo bears some of the financial burden, and Washington has begun to make noises about Japan picking up more of the tab-U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer told a group of reporters last month "we would hope they would be able to spend more." But this is unlikely. Even as staunch a conservative as Hisahiko Okazaki, a former diplomat...
...Constitutional revision would allow greater military cooperation between the two countries. The result would be a safer Japan, and one with a stronger voice in regional affairs. But it won't mark a return to the imperial ideology of World War II. To the rest of the world, a post-Article 9 Japan should be about as scary as Prince Pickles in arms...