Distorted Concept on Battlefield

The government of Japan submitted to the discussion of leading parties new strange concept on the place where Japanese Self-defense Force could help multi-national forces in overseas. Its purpose was simply to expand the area in which JSDF could participate in multi-national security efforts. Crucial inferiority of the concept was it would not define the place they want to determine.

Following the Constitution of Japan, which prohibited use of force in overseas, the government set four categories for assessment on JSDF activities not to integrated to battles of foreign forces. They were geographical relation with foreign troops, actual role of JSDF, connectivity to foreign troops and situation of other countries. With strict application of those points of view, the government has been restricted JSDF operation to supply food and water or medical treatment in “non-battlefield.”

The government proposed abolition of the concept of “non-battlefield.” New guidelines raised four conditions for prohibition instead: supporting foreign troops actually in battle, procurement of goods or labor directly used for battle, support for foreign troops in battlefield, and close relation with act of battle. The government proposed to let JSDF join multi-national force in any case as long as all those four conditions would be simultaneously fulfilled.

With the new guideline, the government expects to help multi-national force with procurement of guns and bullets or medical treatment in battlefield. In the discussion of the leading parties, a governmental officer made ridiculous explanation that JSDF could not provide with guns and bullets when foreign troops were in short of them, but could do that when foreign troops were not actually in need of them. Japan will help others when they don’t want, and will not help when they really want. That is a discussion inside Japan.

This strange discussion started when Prime Minister Jun-ichiro Koizumi decided to help U.S. Force in Operation Iraqi Freedom. To go beyond restriction of the Constitution, Japanese government created a concept of “non-battlefield” for JSDF operation in Iraq. To escape detailed discussion on whether sending JSDF was right or wrong, Koizumi argued that the definition of “non-battlefield” was where JSDF did exist. Leaving such a distorted reasoning concealed substantial and important talking points away.

A lesson of joining wrong war in Iraq was that Japan needed to get back to pre-war era on terrorism. Considering to what extent Japan needs to be involved in wars led by U.S., what would be legal requirement to deal with new security situation and how great the impact on civil society would be are some of the important viewpoints.