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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 19, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| August 4, 2004 |
Maeda Tetsuo and Amano Fumiko on Article
9 of
the Japanese Constitution |
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| Sending the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq: Two Japanese activists speak out against Japan's violation
of Article 9
Article 9 - Renunciation of War
- Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people
forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force
as means of settling international disputes.
- In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air
forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of
the state will not be recognized.
Since the end of World War II the Japanese government - in line with Article
9 of the Constitution - has prohibited the use of Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in any collective
military operations overseas. The Koizumi administration's decision to dispatch the SDF to Iraq
is a radical departure.
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| An expert on the Japanese military, Maeda Tetsuo addresses Peace Boat audience
after departing from Singapore |
Maeda Tetsuo
Maeda Tetsuo, a journalist and prominent expert on Japanese military affairs, traveled with Peace
Boat from Tokyo to Sri Lanka to address the issue of Japan's violation of Article 9 in its dispatch
of the SDF to Iraq.
Maeda explained why the SDF dispatch to Iraq violates Article 9, and also argued that sending the
troops is not only illegal and unnecessary, but also inefficient. He stated that while facing
attacks by insurgent forces, the SDF have accomplished very little in terms of rebuilding Iraq.
Thus far, of 350 schools scheduled for rebuilding, only two have been completed. On a brighter
note, he acknowledge that the forces did deliver stationery goods to people in the area, but also
pointed out that these goods were supplied by the civilian population of Japan, and could have been
delivered using other more efficient means.
Maeda believes that the SDF has been sent not out of necessity, but to help bolster the Bush administration's
already crumbling credibility with the international community. To protest the violation of Article
9, Maeda filed a lawsuit against the Koizumi administration following the troop dispatch, and
has argued twice in court that sending SDF to Iraq was unconstitutional. Maeda believes that Japan's
alliance with the US, and its active assistance of a US-led military campaign, creates the impression
overseas that Japan is developing an aggressive military policy. He fears that, as a result, other
nations may attack Japan under the justification of self-defense in the future. |
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| Hiroshima survivor Amano Fumiko talks to participants about Article 9 |
Amano Fumiko
As a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Amano Fumiko has spent years traveling
the world to speak out against war. After joining the Peace Boat in Singapore, she spoke passionately
about the disagreement among the people of Japan regarding the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces
(SDF) to Iraq and the violation of Article 9.
Amano was 14 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on her city, yet she still recalls the events
of the day with sobering clarity. She believes talking about the day of the bombing is important to
remind people about the horrors of war. She explained that events like the Hiroshima bombing were
the reason Article 9 was formulated. To stress the importance of Article 9 to the
audience, Amano stated that she believed Japan's biggest contribution to the world in the last half
century was in not participating in any wars, or in the killing of any soldiers.
Prior to the violation of Article 9, Amano had seen significant saw many changes within Japan.
First, she believes that public opinion is being more controlled, and secondly that there are serious
changes within the Japanese education system. Formerly a kindergarten teacher, Amano explained about
recent amendments made to Japan's Fundamental Law of Education, which reintroduce messages of patriotism
and nationalism into childrens' education. Pointing out the destructive nature of this type of education,
Amano stressed her belief that children should learn about the world from different points of view.
llustrating how patriotism can cloud the obvious cruelty of war, Amano recalled her thoughts on the day
of the bombing. She explained that before the bombing of Hiroshima she was a patriotic girl and, like
many children, when her country's soldiers were victorious she was proud of their victory, However, she
had never considered the implications of how that victory had been achieved. On the day of the bombing,
standing in the ruins and unrecognizable landscape of Hiroshima, she realized that she could have been
standing anywhere - even in a country like China - which was at war with her own. At that point she saw
that suffering occurred on both sides of the war, and that every time she had cheered, "We did it!" it
had also meant "We killed them!"
Though Maeda and Amano both approach the issue of Article 9 from different backgrounds, both
realize that it has played an important role in the foundation of modern Japanese society, and that its
violation is an issue that the people of Japan need to pay urgent attention to. |
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