Early Warning or Exaggeration

Ministry of Defense released annual report on defense of Japan, called Defense White Paper 2015. It focused on growing military power of China around Japan, as if Japan was surrounded by threat from the continental great power. While the main concern in the white paper is “unexpected accident” by Chinese advance, Shinzo Abe administration has not established close communication to avoid it. What it is doing is unnecessary reinterpretation of the constitution.

The white paper argues that China is promoting major landfill around Spratly Islands in South China Sea, and border invasion of Chinese official ships is getting routinized around Senkaku Islands of Japan. In appendix, the paper included China’s development of natural gas in East China Sea, receiving request of Defense Policy Council of Liberal Democratic Party. It also introduced that China has been developing aircraft with “extremely extra-speed of sound” to penetrate missile defense system.

Prime Minister Abe has been exaggerating deterioration of security environment around Japan. It was likely that the true purpose of the white paper was to endorse personal conviction of Abe. A member of LDP Defense Policy Council explained the purpose of the white paper as urging Japanese people to think why security legislature is needed now. In other words, Abe administration is exaggerating threat around Japan to educate innocent Japanese people.

According to the explanation of Abe, new security legislation is to enhance ability to protect life and property of Japanese people. If China advances to Japan, defensive action of Japan can be took as genuine individual defense. If Japan wants to protect United States helping Japan, it can do it in a concept of individual self-defense.

But, if Japan helps U.S. in Middle East to assure U.S. support in contingency around Japan, U.S. will not fulfill its demand as long as it will be something like struggle over small rocks called Senkaku. U.S. government has simply saying that Article 5 of U.S.-Japan Security Treaty will be applied to Senkaku. It is not clear whether America recognizes Senkaku as Japan.

Response of China against the white paper was immediate. A spokesman of Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed “strong insufficiency and firm opposition.” “Japan is exaggerating threat of China with malice and creating tension,” he said.

After all, Abe is creating insecurity with his insistence on reinterpretation of constitution. What Abe wants to do is to get rid of curse of America that imposed a pacifist