Japan Passes New War Bill, Legalizes Imperialism

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Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
September 19, 2015

A bill that has caused so much protest and demonstration all across Japan in recent weeks has now passed the Japanese Parliament. The so-called “defense and security bills” eliminate constraints placed on the use of the Japanese military imposed by the Japanese Constitution, signaling Japan’s biggest foreign policy shift since the post-war military was created.

A main component of the new laws is an end to the ban on the “right of collective self-defense,” defending another country, particularly the United States, if it were to come under attack, or in instances where Japan faces a “threat to its survival,” i.e. where Japan must “defend its national interests.”

Under the Japanese Constitution, the Japanese military could only be used in cases of self-defense, hence the designation of “self- defense army.” Those restrictions have largely been removed as a result of the passage of the new bills.

The bills had already passed the lower house of the Japanese Parliament and were passed by the upper house in the early hours of Saturday.

Massive Protests In Japan Over New War Bills

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Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
September 18, 2015

Over the past few weeks, Japan has been the scene of massive protests taking place all across the country. The impetus for the protests is a new policy being promoted by the Japanese government that would effectively allow for the use of Japan’s military abroad and in the service of what many would describe as imperialist agendas.

The new “security bills” being promoted by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are at the heart of the recent protests due to the fact that many Japanese see their ultimate passage as a major step toward the return of an imperialist Japan and a country that will soon be using its military in conflicts abroad.

The bills would allow for the use of the Japanese military outside of its national borders in order to “protect Japan’s national interests,” an extremely broad term that may allow for aggressive military actions and imperialism. It may very well allow the military to act as a willing participant in the imperialism of other nations as well, most notably the United States. Indeed, Americans should know well how allowing terms like “protecting national interests” can be used to justify wars of aggression, the slaughter of innocent people abroad, and the destruction of sovereign nations across the globe.

Japan’s Constitution, as codified after the Japanese defeat in World War 2, specifies that its army can only operate for the purposes of self-defense. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of Japanese Constitutional scholars agree that the new laws are unconstitutional. Article 9, which provides much of the basis of the prohibition on aggressive military force reads, “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.”