5.

Security - The Transformation of Military Posture

- Becoming a “normal” country with a “normal” military
- Not to underestimate Japan’s military potential
- Japan’s military structure provides a magnificent mobilization base
- The military budget remains proportionately among the world’s smallest

- Moving Japan’s military toward normality unequivocally infringe Article 9

of its constitution
- Public opposition to the revision of Article 9 - sufficient to deter tabling
such a revision

- Under Koizumi - the national security functions were upgraded

- Under Abe, the defense function officially became a ministry
- The military has more direct access to the prime minister
- Japan’s military is very high-tech compared with those of its neighbors
⇨ The path toward military normalization has been very gradual.

The first of a long series of crises over North Korean missile /ˈmɪsaɪl/ tests and
nuclear ambitions, shock that an ascendant /əˈsendənt/ China was replacing Japan’s
regional leadership. The result has been an acceleration of trends toward becoming
a “normal” country with a “normal” military.
It is important not to underestimate /ˌʌndərˈestɪmeɪt/ Japan’s military potential. It
can send an Aegis /ˈiːdʒɪs/ destroyer to the Indian Ocean to help the United States
manage a war in Afghanistan, and it can land a spacecraft on a tiny asteroid
/ˈæstərɔɪd/ hundreds of millions of miles from earth. Its military budget remains at
a low 1 percent of GDP, not counting military research functions that have been
allocated to other ministries, and is not accelerating. The expansion of military
influence and the military’s sphere of responsibility is very real, but as a share of
Japan’s giant economy, the military budget remains proportionately /prəˈpɔːʃənətli/
among the world’s smallest.

Moreover, recent developments in moving Japan’s military toward normality

unequivocally /ˌʌnɪˈkwɪvəkəli/ infringe /ɪnˈfrɪndʒ/ at least the English language
version of Article 9 of its constitution. So far, public opposition to the revision of
Article 9 has been sufficient to deter political leaders from tabling such a revision.

Under Koizumi, the national security functions were upgraded in the bureaucracy,
and the military leadership came to be treated for important purposes as a ministry.
Under Abe, the defense function officially became a ministry. The military now
has much more direct access to the prime minister, who in turn has much broader
freedom of action regarding national security decisions. Japan’s military is very
high-tech compared with those of its neighbors, having “intelligence satellites,
missile /ˈmɪsaɪl/ defenses, and command-and-control networks, as well as in-flight
refueling, long-range air transports”.
Therefore, it is important to underscore both the dramatic changes that are
occurring and the paradoxical /ˌpærəˈdɑːksɪkl/ fact that the path toward military
normalization has been very gradual. So far, in budget and equipment, it remains
very much a normalization, not a militarization.

* Article 9
"Thành tâm mong muốn một nền hòa bình quốc tế dựa trên công lý và trật tự,
người dân Nhật Bản vĩnh viễn từ bỏ chiến tranh như một quyền chủ quyền của
quốc gia và việc đe dọa hoặc sử dụng vũ lực như một phương tiện giải quyết tranh
chấp quốc tế. 2) Để đạt được mục đích của đoạn trước, các lực lượng trên bộ, trên
biển và trên không, cũng như các tiềm năng chiến tranh khác, sẽ không bao giờ
được duy trì. Quyền tham chiến của nhà nước sẽ không được công nhận."
“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. 2) 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.

* Questions
1. As you said in your presentation about article 9. So Why did Japan
want to change (amend - sửa đổi) its article 9?
- After WW2, Japan cannot maintain the military. And article 9 shows that
Japanese people forever renounce war. -> But nowadays the situation made
 Japan feel more threatened by the rise of China in terms of economy and
also the nuclear weapons of its neighboring countries like North Korea and
China again.
-> Amendment to Article 9 makes it possible for Japan to have an official
military, not just a self-defense force as it is today. They don’t want to stay
under the protection of the US military all the time. Because the military is
really important for a country that wants to consolidate /kənˈsɒlɪdeɪt/ its
power in the region and in the world.

2. Why do the Japanese oppose constitutional amendments?

- The Japanese public often view their Constitution as a pride with the notion
that Japan soon gave up war altogether.
- Article 9 is not only a legal statement but also a statement of Japanese values
and culture.
- This article 9 serves as proof to the world that Japan today is a peace-loving
country and does not want to attack any other country. A Japanese fascist
like World War II is gone.
-> Want to remain the article 9

3. What do you mean by “normalization"?

As Japan became a major economic power in the 1970s and 1980s, domestic
discussions emerged as to whether it should ‘normalize’ its foreign and
security policy, including allowing the use of force outside of its own
borders to support another country’s defence. However, it was not until 2015
that former prime minister Shinzo Abe pushed through legislation that
allowed the Japan Self-Defense Forces to engage in overseas combat
missions.
Khi Nhật Bản trở thành một cường quốc kinh tế trong những năm 1970 và
1980, các cuộc thảo luận trong nước đã nổi lên về việc liệu nước này có nên
'bình thường hóa' chính sách đối ngoại và an ninh của mình hay không, bao
gồm cả việc cho phép sử dụng vũ lực bên ngoài biên giới của mình để hỗ trợ
quốc gia khác. Tuy nhiên, phải đến năm 2015, cựu thủ tướng Shinzo Abe
mới thông qua luật cho phép Lực lượng Phòng vệ Nhật Bản tham gia các
nhiệm vụ chiến đấu ở nước ngoài.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is normalizing Japan’s military. First, in
2013, Japan increased its military budget for the first time in eleven years.
Second, in December 2013, Japan created a National Security Council and
issued its first strategy paper, which focuses on countering China and
beefing up Japan’s military. Third, in April 2014, Tokyo ended its ban on
weapons exports and announced that it would jointly develop weapons with
other countries in addition to the U.S. Fourth, in July 2014, Japan’s cabinet
reinterpreted Article 9 of the country’s constitution to allow it to engage in
collective self-defense. The move lays the groundwork for the Self-Defense
Forces to use force abroad to defend its allies even if Japan has not been
attacked.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2015/09/20/analysis-
japan-takes-step-toward-having-a-normal-military/
https://nhadautu.vn/nhat-ban-nhoc-nhan-tro-thanh-quoc-gia-binh-thuong-
d4463.html
https://japan.net.vn/nguoi-dan-nhat-bieu-tinh-phan-doi-sua-doi-hien-phap-
cua-thu-tuong-shinzo-abe-1150.htm
https://vietnamnet.vn/sua-hien-phap-nhat-doi-mat-he-qua-kho-luong-
156832.html