In a ‘landmark move’, Abe to ease legal limits on Japanese military
16 Dec 2013 5:32 AM IST
Lifting Japan’s self-imposed ban on exercising the right of collective self-defense would mark a major turning point for Japan’s post-war security policy and could increase tensions in the region, where a row over tiny uninhabited islands in the East China Sea encapsulates growing Sino-Japanese mistrust.
Since its World War Two defeat in 1945, Japan’s military has not engaged in combat.
However, successive governments have stretched the limits of the US-drafted, pacifist constitution to allow non-combat missions abroad.
Abe - whose first term as premier ended when he abruptly quit in 2007 due to parliamentary deadlock and ill health - returned in triumph a year ago this month, pledging to revive Japan’s stagnant economy and bolster its global security clout.
‘Although there is no national election scheduled until 2016, if he doesn’t resolve various issues in parliament next year, momentum will falter and he will run out of time,’ said Hokkaido University professor Jiro Yamaguchi.
‘Abe probably feels strongly that next year will be the last chance to implement his long-held goals.’
Until last month, Abe’s popularity ratings were above 60 per cent, rare for a Japanese leader after a year in office, thanks to an economic recovery and buoyant stock prices which were in turn fuelled by hyper-easy monetary policy, a pillar of his ‘Abenomics’ growth agenda.
Last month he achieved one cherished goal in his conservative agenda when parliament enacted a law to create a National Security Council, which will concentrate control over security and diplomatic policies in the prime minister’s hands.
A first-ever National Security Strategy to be approved on next Tuesday will underscore Abe’s push to bolster the military and raise Japan’s security profile in the face of a rising China.
Public concerns in Japan about China’s growing military assertiveness have so far provided support for Abe’s stance.
Abe’s support, however, slid to about 50 per cent this month after his ruling bloc steamrolled through parliament a strict state secrets act that the government says is vital to persuade allies to share intelligence.
Critics, however, say it echoes Japan’s wartime authoritarian regime and will muzzle the media.
Ironically, the drop in opinion polls - plus fears of an economic relapse after the national 5 per cent sales tax rises to 8 per cent in April - may encourage the Japanese leader to push for the change rather than wait and risk further declines that would undercut his clout in his own party, some experts said.
‘You should not forget that the strength of Abe comes not from his conservative agenda but from his management of the economy,’ said a former government official. ‘An economic downturn could change that picture.’
Another sales tax hike to 10 per cent, to rein in Japan’s huge public debt, is slated for 2015 and would be especially controversial if the economy sags, sapping political energy.
WARY DOMESTIC ALLY
‘If he pushes it (lifting the ban) through, it will be disastrous but it is quite likely that he will,’ said lawmaker Seiichiro Murakami.
A rare outspoken critic of Abe in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Murakami predicts that steamrolling controversial security policies risks sparking a voter backlash, especially if the economy stumbles.
‘The state secrets act, the National Security Council, collective self-defense and a revision of US-Japan defense co-operation guidelines are a package,’ he added.
China condemns Japan for criticising air defence zone
BEIJING: China has condemned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for ‘maliciously slandering’ its air defence zone in an escalating war of words between the neighbours.
Abe told a news conference on Saturday that China’s recent announcement of the air defence identification zone over disputed islands in the East China Sea is ‘unjustly violating the freedom of aviation over the high seas’ and demanded Beijing rescind it. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei defended the zone, which has triggered protests from Japan, the United States and South Korea.
‘We express strong dissatisfaction with Japan’s leader using an international occasion to maliciously slander China,’ Hong said in a statement seen on the ministry website on Sunday. The islands are claimed by Beijing as the Diaoyus and by Tokyo as the Senkakus.
‘The Diaoyus are an inherent territory of China. Japan’s seizure and occupation of the islands are illegal and invalid,’ Hong said, adding that the zone is in line with international laws and practices, and does not affect aviation freedom.
‘The Chinese side took necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is totally legitimate and irreproachable,’ the spokesman said.
‘Japan’s attempt to play tricks with concept... and mislead world opinion is doomed to failure,’ he added. China’s air defence zone and its territorial claims in the South China Sea have raised concerns that a minor incident in the disputed seas could quickly escalate. China and several ASEAN nations have competing territorial claims in the energy-rich South China Sea.
Abe and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed at a summit in Tokyo on Saturday for the need for freedom of the high seas and skies and called for the peaceful resolution of disputes.
Since its World War Two defeat in 1945, Japan’s military has not engaged in combat.
However, successive governments have stretched the limits of the US-drafted, pacifist constitution to allow non-combat missions abroad.
Abe - whose first term as premier ended when he abruptly quit in 2007 due to parliamentary deadlock and ill health - returned in triumph a year ago this month, pledging to revive Japan’s stagnant economy and bolster its global security clout.
‘Although there is no national election scheduled until 2016, if he doesn’t resolve various issues in parliament next year, momentum will falter and he will run out of time,’ said Hokkaido University professor Jiro Yamaguchi.
‘Abe probably feels strongly that next year will be the last chance to implement his long-held goals.’
Until last month, Abe’s popularity ratings were above 60 per cent, rare for a Japanese leader after a year in office, thanks to an economic recovery and buoyant stock prices which were in turn fuelled by hyper-easy monetary policy, a pillar of his ‘Abenomics’ growth agenda.
Last month he achieved one cherished goal in his conservative agenda when parliament enacted a law to create a National Security Council, which will concentrate control over security and diplomatic policies in the prime minister’s hands.
A first-ever National Security Strategy to be approved on next Tuesday will underscore Abe’s push to bolster the military and raise Japan’s security profile in the face of a rising China.
Public concerns in Japan about China’s growing military assertiveness have so far provided support for Abe’s stance.
Abe’s support, however, slid to about 50 per cent this month after his ruling bloc steamrolled through parliament a strict state secrets act that the government says is vital to persuade allies to share intelligence.
Critics, however, say it echoes Japan’s wartime authoritarian regime and will muzzle the media.
Ironically, the drop in opinion polls - plus fears of an economic relapse after the national 5 per cent sales tax rises to 8 per cent in April - may encourage the Japanese leader to push for the change rather than wait and risk further declines that would undercut his clout in his own party, some experts said.
‘You should not forget that the strength of Abe comes not from his conservative agenda but from his management of the economy,’ said a former government official. ‘An economic downturn could change that picture.’
Another sales tax hike to 10 per cent, to rein in Japan’s huge public debt, is slated for 2015 and would be especially controversial if the economy sags, sapping political energy.
WARY DOMESTIC ALLY
‘If he pushes it (lifting the ban) through, it will be disastrous but it is quite likely that he will,’ said lawmaker Seiichiro Murakami.
A rare outspoken critic of Abe in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Murakami predicts that steamrolling controversial security policies risks sparking a voter backlash, especially if the economy stumbles.
‘The state secrets act, the National Security Council, collective self-defense and a revision of US-Japan defense co-operation guidelines are a package,’ he added.
China condemns Japan for criticising air defence zone
BEIJING: China has condemned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for ‘maliciously slandering’ its air defence zone in an escalating war of words between the neighbours.
Abe told a news conference on Saturday that China’s recent announcement of the air defence identification zone over disputed islands in the East China Sea is ‘unjustly violating the freedom of aviation over the high seas’ and demanded Beijing rescind it. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei defended the zone, which has triggered protests from Japan, the United States and South Korea.
‘We express strong dissatisfaction with Japan’s leader using an international occasion to maliciously slander China,’ Hong said in a statement seen on the ministry website on Sunday. The islands are claimed by Beijing as the Diaoyus and by Tokyo as the Senkakus.
‘The Diaoyus are an inherent territory of China. Japan’s seizure and occupation of the islands are illegal and invalid,’ Hong said, adding that the zone is in line with international laws and practices, and does not affect aviation freedom.
‘The Chinese side took necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is totally legitimate and irreproachable,’ the spokesman said.
‘Japan’s attempt to play tricks with concept... and mislead world opinion is doomed to failure,’ he added. China’s air defence zone and its territorial claims in the South China Sea have raised concerns that a minor incident in the disputed seas could quickly escalate. China and several ASEAN nations have competing territorial claims in the energy-rich South China Sea.
Abe and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed at a summit in Tokyo on Saturday for the need for freedom of the high seas and skies and called for the peaceful resolution of disputes.
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