As the head of state, the Emperor should be ensuring that Japan’s military is on
the "forefront establishing and maintaining global peace and stability." So concluded a report drafted by the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) research commission on the constitution last week, raising fears in the neighbourhood that Japan plans to turn into a regional military bully before too long.

The House of Representatives Research Commission on the Constitution was established in 2000 in an effort to revise the constitution to authorise the military to defend Japan’s security. A few days after the controversial report leaked to the press, the LDP defused the draft for a revised constitution announcing that the Emperor will remain the "symbol of state" for now. To ensure that Japan will remain a democracy and not turn into a military dictatorship with the Emperor calling the shots, the report introduces a separate chapter on popular sovereignty, keeping Japanese citizens from turning into overly submissive subjects for now. The report, the left-leaning daily warns, "proposes radical changes to the country’s constitution" enabling the prime minister to send soldiers out to fight "just like Japan’s wartime Emperor used to do."

But as far as the ruling LDP is concerned, getting rid of the constitution’s war-renouncing Article 9 and using military force in certain situations to establish peace and stability isn’t incongruent with Japan being a "pacifist and peace-loving nation." Many commentators in Japan, however, think that worrying about this ban has become unnecessary, claiming that deploying troops and ships to the Indian Ocean to support the
U. S. war against Afghanistan is pretty much executing the right to collective self-defence anyway.

Knowing that the majority of the Japanese public, reluctant to throw overboard what is left of Japanese pacifism, thinks that the prime minister should do no such thing, the LDP plans to exclude the public, it turns out. Whereas until now a two-thirds majority in both chambers of parliament needs to be followed by a majority vote in a referendum to change the constitution.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi wants to get rid of Article 9 all the same, and North Korea and international terrorism are to blame as far as he is concerned. "Discussions should focus on Article 9, given the tensions on the Korean Peninsula and changes in Japan’s contribution to international affairs," he said.

The agency suggested "simplifying" (read: excluding cautious lawmakers) the procedures under which the prime minister can order "countermeasures" when the country is under attack.

If the military gets its way, the parliament would be sidelined and only "requested" to endorse the cabinet’s decision to shoot back. Not much time to discuss the pros and cons of countermeasures anyway, says the military, warning that North Korean Nodong missiles can reach Japanese territory in less than 10 minutes.

Over recent months, shooting down (North Korean) missiles was high on the agenda of Japan’s security policy and the military’s eyes usually opened wide with delight every time the words "missile defence" got mentioned. Deploying the system, however, will take another couple of years and for now it remains a challenging task to figure out what exactly Japan’s military wants to do if Pyongyang decides to run amok earlier than that. Whereas attacking North Korea pre-emptively seemed an option for Japan’s military only very recently, its main task will now be reduced to clearing up the mess after North Korean missiles hit Japanese territory, it seems.

While changing the fundamentals of Japan’s defence policy, the "national emergency laws," a package of three laws instructing the armed forces what to do in the case of an attack on Japan.

The Diet started discussing the laws more than two years ago and the LDP’s most recent version of the package seems to suggest that the military could be mobilised even before Japan is under attack. The bills formulate two contingencies, a "military attack" as well as an "anticipated military attack situation" authorising the military to fight if the prime minister says so. "Anticipated military attack" is alarmingly close to "attacking pre-emptively," warns the political opposition, and the New Komeito, the LDP’s biggest coalition partner, is also strongly opposed to letting Japan pull the trigger before the enemy.

Beating the summer 250 years ago