A Foreshadowing
By streiff Posted in Foreign Affairs — Comments (15) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
On November 25, 1970, a band of five men led by 45-year old novelist and playwright Yukio Mishima entered the Japan Ground Self Defense Force barracks at Ichigawa, near downtown Tokyo. Mishima and his companions were well known on the base and Mishima had arranged for an appointment at 11am with the commander of the Eastern Division of the JGSDF, Lieutenant General Kanetoshi Mashida.
Wearing the uniform of his private army, the Tatenokai, Mishima and his companions overpowered General Mashida and in a brief exercise of swordplay drove Mashida’s aides from the office. Mashida was bound to his chair and Mishima issued a series of demands, among them that all the troops stationed at Ichigawa be assembled in the barracks courtyard no later than noon.
Read on.
When the troops were assembled, Mishima strode onto the balcony and began to harangue the assembled soldiers from a manifesto that drew heavily from that of the participants in the Ni Ni Roku Coup of February 26, 1936. Mishima denounced the Peace Constitution as an affront to Japanese culture and called on the army to rise to the defense of Japan’s heritage and overthrow the government. He lasted from five to ten minutes before the heckling and catcalls overwhelmed him.
He abruptly withdrew into the office and in a rehearsed climax slashed open his abdomen before being beheaded by an aide. The New York Times observed:
The Defense Agency issued instructions to all servicemen not to be influenced by the incident. Kakuei Tanaka, secretary general of the governing Liberal-Democratic party, declared: "We must avoid a repetition of such events at all costs, in order to prevent the collapse of democracy."
High Government officials and newsmen voiced concern that the old stereotype view abroad of a strange and barbaric Japanese society would be reinforced by the wide publicity given Mr. Mishima's suicide, particularly the distribution of a graphic photograph showing the severed heads of the writer and a youthful comrade who also committed hara-kiri.
The suicide occurred a few hours before Premier Sato was to deliver a major policy address to the Diet (Parliament), reaffirming the country's dedication to peace and democracy. Mr. Sato gave his speech, but newspapers subordinated their reports of what he had to say beneath the bold black headlines of the hara-kiri.
Today Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi unveiled a proposed revision to the Japanese Constitution that:
The proposed LDP revision keeps the clause renouncing war, but removes the need for such interpretations by clearly stipulating in the constitution itself that Japan may keep a military force for self-defense and for participating in international peacekeeping efforts.
"In addition to activities needed for self defense ... the defense forces can take part in efforts to maintain international peace and security under international cooperation, as well as to keep fundamental public order in our country," the draft says.
The change is part of a general push by Koizumi's government to give Japan a larger military and diplomatic profile in the world. The LDP has long campaigned to replace the U.S.-drafted constitution with Japan's own and made establishing a new one the first item in its new platform, also unveiled Tuesday.
One of the favorite political activities in the Far East is worrying about a resurgence of Japanese militarism. Periodically, a Japanese prime minister visits the Yasukuni Shrine and sets of another mini-crisis with its neighbors because the shrine honors, along with all Japanese war dead in all wars, the executed Class A war criminals tried at the Tokyo War Crimes trials, and hundreds of executed Class B and Class C war criminals.
The proposed change in the Japanese constitution has been foreshadowed by an ever increasing Japanese naval presence outside its home waters, a more aggressive approach in dealing perpetual North Korean provocations, and participation in the Ballistic Missile Defense System.
Earlier this year, the Department of Defense announced significant changes in the US defense posture in the Far East and with those changes a new defense relationship with Japan, a relationship built on Japan as an ally rather than a client:
The United States and Japan adopted plans Oct. 29 to sharply cut U.S. forces in Okinawa, deploy a powerful missile defense radar in Japan and bind their militaries more closely together in a major realignment of their alliance.
The United States will move 7,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam, reducing the size of its force in Okinawa to 11,000, Japanese defense chief Yoshinori Ohno said. U.S. officials said they hope to accomplish the move within six years.
Japan, in turn, committed to an expansion in the roles and missions of its defense forces both in the defense of Japan and in international missions that do not involve the use of force. […]
The U.S. military and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces also plan to develop a “common operational picture” with U.S. and Japanese command centers co-located at Yokota Air Base in Japan, it said. […]
The plans also call for a series of force realignments beyond Okinawa, including the eventual relocation of the headquarters of the U.S. Army’s I Corps from Fort Lewis, Washington, to Japan, U.S. officials said.
The U.S. Army, in the meantime, will convert its command structure in Japan into a deployable joint task force headquarters, which could be co-located with a Japanese defense forces “central readiness force command” at Camp Zama.
The Japanese air defense command would be co-located with the U.S. air defense command at Yokota Air Base. [...]
The U.S. Navy announced this week that a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will be stationed in Japan for the first time in 2008, when the USS Kitty Hawk returns to the United States for decommissioning.
Though the residual wounds from the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere haven’t completely healed and a rearmed Japan is sure to make its neighbors howl with anger, this change to Japan’s constitution is long overdue.
In 1992 when Japan conducted the first military deployment outside its borders since 1945, supporting peacekeeping operations in Cambodia, there were also cries of protest from its neighbors, particularly the Koreas and China.
Japan, alone of the significant world powers, has relied exclusively upon the soft power of diplomacy and yen to further its interests while relying upon American forces to deter aggression. With the increasing instability in Japan’s sphere of influence, Japan has to know that a PRC invasion of Taiwan, a DPRK adventure against the ROK, or a PRC land grab in the Spratleys will inevitably see Japan sucked into the conflict. In addition, the resurgence of piracy in the Straits of Malacca, Japan’s lifeline now as in World War II, makes regional force projection an increasing necessity for Japan and a necessity that will be hard to hide under the fig leaf of “Self Defense Forces.”
So even though a date has not been set for a vote on the new constitution it seems inevitable that the ensign of the Japanese Naval Self Defense Force will again be ubiquitous in the Pacific and that Yukio Mishima’s one-man coup d’etat may have succeeded spectacularly but in a way he could never have envisioned.
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A Foreshadowing 15 Comments (0 topical, 15 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Trust me, the Chinese naval buildup will, in its turn, lead to the return of big deck Japanese carriers.
Japan is a maritime trading nation. It has sealanes to protect. Do the math.
From:
Japan and the United States in 2004
By Shinzo Abe, Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan
April 29, 2004
AEI Events
http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.20399,filter.all/pub_detail.asp
Irving Kristol's expression, "mugged by reality," so aptly captures the state that Japan finds itself in today. Quite literally, Japan was "mugged" into accepting the "new post-9/11 reality."
I see that I am running out of time.
I would like to emphasize that, under the present conditions; Japanese political leaders are facing some very heavy responsibilities. What must we do in the context of these responsibilities? One thing that we must certainly do is to give serious thought to a favorite expression of President Reagan and many other American conservatives. In the words of Richard Weaver, "Ideas have consequences."
We must not flinch, but rather must go forward armed with conviction and ideas to fulfill our responsibilities.
Japan-U.S. relations have gone through a number of stages, including the postwar stage and then the Cold War. We now stand on the threshold of a new stage in Japan-U.S. relations. Our relations in this new period must be characterized by sturdiness and creativity. Having taken the past history of our bilateral relations into full account, we must now concentrate our minds and our energies on transforming the Japan-U.S. relations into a "partnership of equals."
Can't remember the location, was about half an hour from Tokyo by rail. It was striking that most of the exhibitions focused on radically improving the world's energy efficiency. A new environmental movement has started in Japan, and it promises to go much farther than the country's impressive response to the shokku of the Seventies. I think this is just the kind of thing we need here.
Japan has become a staunch ally for the US. Both nations have much to fear from the resurgence of China, and we have much to gain from each other's cultures. Japan has a hermetic culture to be sure, but it's stark and beautiful in many ways. Our interests are now geopolitically aligned with theirs, and we should welcome their re-acquisition of military power, including nuclear power.
And of course this is China's very worst nightmare, and it's a good time to make it happen now, before the Chinese have a few more decades to prepare for it.
Japan must also consider how much it can depend on U.S. assistance for anything considering the ranting of the no-war-at-any-time-for-any-reason Left.
Excellent point for them to ponder. Section9 thinks they'll build a new Big Carrier® force. I'll go one farther. I predict the first keel will be laid NLT 2009...
I for one am glad to see the Japanese are taking their strategic role in Asia seriously. The Japanese have been taking justifiably small steps towards reasserting themselves as a major Asian power. But it is absolutely necessary to ensure Japan remains a free democracy and a valuable ally.
If this concerns North Korea and China, then better still.
However, I must diagree with Streiff. I don't believe this represents a return to ultra-nationalism that led them to disaster, but rather a pragmatism that recognizes that Asia is becoming a very dangerous place and that in order to survive as an economic and political power, they need to build up their ability to defend themselves, and if need be, be able to project power in a limited fashion to defend their interests.
We should applaud and support them in this endeavour. Compare what the Japanese are doing as compared to the Europeans, also under our military umbrella. They have used that protection as an excuse to strip their militaries in order to feed their ravenous welfare states.
disagree with me.
However, I must diagree with Streiff.
Because very clearly that is not the point I am making.
Do you think one of the underlying reasons for Nihon security self awareness quickening is the increased disillusionment with the UN? We know they don't feel they are getting as much bang for the buck (hence reduced funding), and seeing the lack of response to obvious security situations by the UN, I sense that the position of more partner like cooperation in naval and air activities is necessary.
On a good note, contrary to some skeptics, there has been a fundamental schism between the political-military-industrial 'cabal' of Japans past. The government is different, the economy is different, and presumably, the culture of a modern Nihon military would be drastically different. As evidenced by the current JDF.
As far as force projection, I have to agree with this assessment over the suggested above construction of flattops. No nation will be constructing or deploying worldwide strategic force projection (carrier battle-groups) in the short term future (10 yr), except us. It's very expensive. And the cost benefit is negligible. To convince a population to build it, you need a good ol'fashioned Cold War. The more likely scenario is the acquisition of Nuclear capabilities, and missile defense technology. Not that that will be cheap. and China would be venomously against.
be my take on it.
I think the Peace Constitution is an affront to Japanese sovereignity but I think that they have been too painfully conscious of their own recent past to do much about it.
I think Japan has grown in international confidence in the past 10-15 years and has reached a national consensus that no self-respecting nation can afford to have its freedom of action subject to the permission and guarantees of others.
The Administration, too, has done a lot to let the Japanese know that, in the words of Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan, if you want to be a lumberjack you have to hold up your end of the log.
Interesting. I've wondered when we would again see the Japanese military might. I myself always believed it was a matter of time. I personally think this is a good thing.
As a visitor to the Philippines in the 90's, I was amazed at how after we left (America), who moved right in?.. The Japanese. It is actually a source of heartache for many in the islands, as they feel the younger generation should not have embraced them.
I do wonder, however, if this will be well received be the rest of the Pacific community. Terrible things were done in the past, and not all can forgive and forget. It will be interesting to see how this plays out throughout the region.
I do though think it is a positive step, and one that could keep the region peaceful.
Is your point that the upcoming strategic changes in East Asia are "in a way he could never have envisioned", a shift from the traditional US/Chinese alliance (dating back to whaling times) to the US/Japanese robust and joint defense posture which has been latent for 60 years, but will now grow proportionately with Chinese military prowess?
(Sorry - that's quite a run-on sentence)
and on re-reading ambiguous.
Mishima believed the Peace Constitution ran counter to Japanese (or IMHO any) culture and tradition. He wanted it gone and he though the way of getting rid of it was through a return to militarism because the civilian government was too morally weak to repudiate it.
The Peace Constitution is going to be done away with, as he wanted, but it is going to be done away with by a mature democracy acting in its own interests.
The changes in defense policy in regards to Japan are nothing short of stunning. Clearly moving I Corps from Fort Lewis, WA to Japan implies it would be working alongside Japanese forces in areas outside Japanese territory.
regarding military topics in Asia, in particular Asian attitudes towards a possible Sino-American war and the reasons some Asian nations feel the need to start arming themselves.
http://www.insightmag.com/Media/MediaManager/slasheastasia_1.htm
I don't agree with the opinions of the official quoted, but it does perhaps display the mindset of those that feel threatened by China.
Yes - I understand your point about Mishima, and I was coming at it from the american view. I think the change is that PRC militarization will force us out of the "contain them while boosting Taiwan economically" strategy, into a full-blown military alliance with Japan, and others - unlike the present patron/client arrangement we've had since war's end.
The change as I see it is away from a traditional US-China policy, which even prevailed, through denial, during the communist era.
Unless the chinese succeed in liberalizing their politics to match their economy, the japanese will steal the march on them since they have liberalized their economy, and many experts believe they can re-militarize almost overnight. I forget the reference, but someone commented apropos the NKor situation, that if NKor tested a nuke, then Japan could build a few hundred in about a week, or something to that effect.
Our putting I Corps in Japan clearly would send a message, but I wonder whether the chinese would get it?
Has anyone here read him in the original? He's one of the reasons I want to learn Japanese. (Kurosawa is another.)