Bureaucratic Maneuver

So, what the government of Japan can do with new security bills? With the security legislation, it has been said that Japanese Self-defense Force can protect the troops with another country or transport arms of foreign troops. But, if it is necessary for security of Japan, JSDF always needs to exercise those operations whether or not new legislation is passed. The problem is reluctance of bureaucrats, highly reluctant to make those efforts, saying “We don’t like to do that because we might be arrested when we do that.” Just do it, if it were indispensable for existence of Japan.

Participation in United Nations Peace-keeping Operation was one of the greatest changes for JSDF in the past. While the operation has been strictly limited to activities for non-military supports, someone in Japanese government started to say that one of the JSDF members who helped injured foreign troops and kill his enemy with fire arms in PKO would be arrested in accordance with Japanese law, because it did not determine whether such an activity would be tolerated or not.

Obviously, it must be self-protection to support other troops who are operating together. “No, even if he were not violating international law, he must be arrested with Japanese domestic law. That is why we don’t like to be involved in such an operation. If you want us to do that, change the law to be suitable for PKO” was what Japanese bureaucrats were complaining.

One answer of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was exercising collective self-defense. Bureaucrats, mainly in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have been expecting to make that happen. They falsely believed that Japan-U.S. relationship would be firmly reinforced by more integrated joint military operation with the concept of collective self-defense. It is likely, however, that United States will be disappointed with Japan’s inability in actual military operation, because JSDF is still regulated not to be involved in offensive activities in many ways. New security legislation does not guarantee sufficient support to U.S. in battlefields.

Bureaucrats do not have power to interpret laws. Their job is not requiring security legislation to make their jobs easier, but fulfilling responsibility according to demand of sovereign people. In spite of unprecedentedly persistent protest against new security bills, bureaucrats kept on pushing lawmakers to pass the bills. What they achieved was not only freer hand in military support to foreign troops, but a significant example that the Constitution could be reinterpreted by intensive and distorted understanding by bureaucrats.