Abe lays out scenarios for SDF dispatch if security bills pass
If contentious security reform bills are enacted by the Diet, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japanese forces could hypothetically be dispatched to mine-sweeping operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
Should Japanese liberals support revising Article 9?
Rather than leave the interpretation of Article 9 to each administration, perhaps it should be revised so government policies could be placed under the potential constraints of judicial review.
Lower House finally takes up contentious security bills
The Lower House kicks off much-awaited deliberations on two contentious security bills that would greatly expand the scope of the Self-Defense Forces' missions overseas, and opposition lawmakers immediately go on the attack.
SDF will only be deployed to 'safe' places, Abe says
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rebuffed criticism on Wednesday that the government's contentious security legislation would put Self-Defense Forces personnel at greater risk, saying they would provide logistics support in areas that are safe. In the first one-on-one debate with opposition party leaders since last June, ...
MacArthur's JapaneseConstitution
The Constitution is one of the more controversial documents of our age. Some want it rewritten, some hold it as an inviolable sacred text. Article 9 — the article renouncing war — has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and Prime Minister Shinzo ...
Peace or war? Diet plays security bill name game
The government says two safely named security bills endorsed by the Cabinet are for “peace,” but the titles aren’t flying with everyone.
The Abe administration's legislative package to expand the SDF's role finally reaches the Diet — but still remains poorly explained.
Experts split on proposed SDF reforms; poll suggests public wary
Two noted experts interviewed by The Japan Times have contrasting views of Prime Minister Abe's ambitions to alter Japan's postwar security posture. But what they agree on is that the bills adopted by the Cabinet on Thursday will, if passed by the Diet, increase the ...
Abe: Japan won't slide into U.S. war despite collective defense loophole
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tried to brush off concerns Thursday that Japan could be dragged into a war involving the United States, saying the government's security legislation allows the Self-Defense Forces to address every situation in a seamless manner to protect Japanese citizens. "The Cabinet ...
LDP produces manga to make case for constitutional revision
The Liberal Democratic Party has published a new manga targeted at younger voters that argues the pacifist Constitution should be revised because it was hastily written in just eight days — by foreigners. The comic book, released late last month and entitled "Honobono Ikka no ...
Amid the current effort to rewrite the Constitution, Japan should remember how well it has served the nation these past seven decades.
Shinzo Abe is bent on making Japan a "normal" country, but has he thought out the consequences of elevating the SDF to a full-fledged military?
