Japan’s Forced Slide Away from Pacifism
Japan, the only victim of an atomic weapon, has long struck a pacifist pose. But that is changing under pressure from China’s assertiveness and North Korea’s burgeoning nuclear program. Japan’s pacifism was written into its Us-dictated constitution. Article Nine committed its people to eschew the “use of force to settle international disputes.” But as regional threats mount along with doubts about the US security umbrella’s reliability, the Japanese are more inclined to consider a once unthinkable option — rearm.
Sheila A. Smith offers a nuanced perspective on this shift. She says that as US policymakers openly debate their commitment to the defense of allies, Japanese policymakers too are beginning to consider the need to acquire offensive military capability. Smith identifies three crisis scenarios that might move Japan from its pacifist pedestal: a missile launch by North Korea; the US abandonment of its maritime dominance in Asia, leaving Japan vulnerable; and a failure of the Us-japan alliance in a crisis. Donald Trump’s open musing about letting Japan defend itself could only have strengthened its doubts about the reliability of this long-time ally.
The thought of Japan rearming has become more palatable as Japan’s Self-defence Force gathers experience in UN peacekeeping in Cambodia, Ground Self-defence Force in Iraq, anti-piracy and other operations. External pressures on the SDF, which faces increasing challenges in Japan’s waters and airspace, have combined to create a sense that Japan’s leaders “have become far more comfortable using the military as an instrument of statecraft,” Smith writes.