More Positive on Reinterpretation

Against his intention to focus on economic policies, most audiences realized that he was more serious than ever to reinterpret the Article IX of the Constitution of Japan for exercising collective self-defense right. Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, announced in his policy speech to the Diet that he would consider changing interpretation on collective self-defense right after he would receive the report of his personal consultative committee on the issue later this year. In growing skepticisms against his behavior as a revisionist, a further step to militarize Japan would invite backlashes from neighbors and disappointments from allies.

Policy speech in the Diet marks the opening of annual session and is paralleled with the State of the Union Address of POTUS. On the reinterpretation, Abe told that he would “consider how to respond to the report of the Council for Reconstructing Legislative Basis on Security,” while he had been saying that he would just wait for the conclusion of the council. The council is expected to report it to Abe as soon as this April.

The coalition partner of Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito, has been reluctant to cooperate with the reinterpretation, receiving anxiety on the issue from its basic supporters affiliated with Soka Gakkai. If Abe is proceeding to the reinterpretation, New Komeito will have to consider stepping out from the coalition. Leaders of Abe administration seems to be thinking that they have nothing to lose by Komeito’s resistance, because some of other opposition parties, Japan Restoration Party and Your Party, are showing cooperative attitude for Abe administration on this issue.

Reinterpretation of the Article IX will send a message to Japan’s neighbors that Japan will deal its security concern with military. Even how Abe explains the purpose of the reinterpretation as a way to enhance Japan-U.S. alliance by helping U.S. in emergency of being attacked, Japan’s neighbors recognize it as paving ways to take countermeasures against territorial assertions of China or South Korea. Knowing those possible responses of the neighbors, the United States is very careful not to let Japan stimulate China and South Korea.

One point Abe does not understand is he is not a person worth doing that. He has been failing to make preferable environment to do that by visiting Yasukuni war shrine with his unilateral reason, by missing opportunities to have dialogue with the leaders of China and South Korea, and by showing his distorted historiography on Murayama and Kono Statements or resemblance current Sino-Japan relationship to that of Anglo-Germany in the eve of the Great War. Analyzing those behavior leads to a conclusion that all he want to do is just hurling bricks to China, South Korea and “control” of the United States, regardless Japan’s national interests.