Prime Minister Aso Taro in his policy speech emphasized his intention to “reinforce the alliance relationship” with the “Japan-US alliance as the cornerstone.”
Foreign Minister Nakasone Hirofumi in his foreign policy speech also stressed, “[W]e will tackle challenges together and reinforce the Japan-US alliance.”
In a telephone conversation with US President Barack Obama on January 29, Prime Minister Aso confirmed his commitment to working to further strengthen the Japan-US alliance.
How aberrant it is for Japan to see the Japan-US alliance as absolute and to tout its servility as a firmly established policy framework! As long as Japan maintains its subservience to the Untied States, it can neither respond to the changes taking place throughout the world nor contribute to international efforts in the cause of progress and peace.
Reinforcing Japan-US alliance only impedes peace efforts
The fact that the United States launched aggression against Iraq in disregard of the UN Charter and international opposition shows that the Japan-US alliance is an obstacle to peace. The Japanese government readily supported the invasion of Iraq and began extending military assistance to US forces because Japan is bound by the alliance with the United States. Many countries pulled their troops out of Iraq, but Japan did not. It continued to deploy Self-Defense Force units to provide support to the US forces, another example of Japan’s commitment to the alliance with the United States.
Foreign Minister Nakasone in his speech said that the SDF support for the war had been “highly appreciated.” Refusal to admit the error and the failure of the Iraq War has nothing in common with the perception of the international community. The United States itself has been in the mood to accept the failure of the war although it started the war. Criticizing the Iraq War, US President Obama has ordered the US forces to leave Iraq.
Japan’s adherence to the alliance with the United States is incompatible with the principles of the United Nations’ Charter, which declares that a course a country decides to take should be decided independently, free from pressures from any big powers, and that conflicts should be resolved through diplomacy, not by war, in order to maintain “a world without war.”
Apparently, the Aso Cabinet’s call for a “further build-up of the military alliance” goes against the principles of the UN Charter and undermines international efforts to defend world peace.
That Foreign Minister Nakasone has stated that he will make frank and concrete proposals to the US Obama administration cannot be overlooked. He is apparently seen as trying to court the US in anticipation of US pressure on specific issues.
Outgoing US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer in a speech said Japan should show its willingness to participate in cooperation with the international community by taking the initiative instead of waiting for outside requests for contributions. This, he said, is a powerful message that will help strengthen Japan’s relationship with the United States under the new administration. Japan is trying to meet this demand.
This soon took shape when the Aso Cabinet decided to dispatch Self-Defense Force units to waters off Somalia on a so-called “anti-piracy” mission. The government is also working hard to enact a law to dispatch SDF units overseas and allow them to use force in violation of the Constitution.
The world is moving toward strengthening sovereign independence of nations free of military alliances
In the present-day world, more and more countries are seeking to strengthen their sovereign independence without being tied to military alliances, the aim being to develop regional communities for peace that do not need to create an external enemy.
The promotion of the realignment of US forces in Japan and strengthening the policy of overseas deployment of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces are being used to strengthen the Japan-US military alliance for aggressive purposes. This goes against the world current for peace.
The task now is for Japan to abrogate the Japan-US military alliance under the Security Treaty, so that Japan can finally completely break away from the decades-long regime of subordination to the United States.
