Japan enhances military's role as security bills pass; China warns

[politicqxs 358]

By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's parliament early Saturday approved contentious legislation that enhances the role of the country's military by loosening post-World War II constraints, after the ruling bloc defeated opposition parties' last-ditch effort to block a vote.

The upper house's approval makes the legislation into law, reinterpreting Japan's constitution and fundamentally changing the way it uses its military. Opponents say it violates Japan's constitution and puts the country at risk of becoming embroiled in U.S.-led wars.

The legislation has sparked sizeable protests and debate about whether Japan should shift away from its pacifist ways to face growing security challenges. Rallies have spread across the nation especially after the ruling parties approved the bills in July in the more powerful lower house.

Japan's military can now defend its allies even when the country isn't under attack — for the first time since the end of the World War II — and work more closely with the U.S. and other nations. Japan will also be able to participate more fully in international peacekeeping, compared to its previous, mostly humanitarian, missions.

"The legislation is necessary in order to protect the people's lives and their peaceful livelihood, and it is to prevent a war," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters after the passage of a total of 11 bills — one related to international peacekeeping and a package of 10 others designed to allow Japan's military to defend its allies in an action called "collective self-defense."

Dozens of constitutional scholars, lawyers and other legal experts have joined protests, saying the legislation allowing Japan to use force to settle international disputes violates its U.S.-drafted postwar constitution that renounces a right to wage war.

China said it and other Asian neighbors are closely watching the vote because of Japan's wartime aggression.

"We demand that Japan genuinely listen to just appeals from both at home and abroad, learning from historical lessons and adhering to the path of peaceful development," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei.

Previous postwar governments had all made the notion of collective self-defense unconstitutional. But Abe's Cabinet last year decided to allow it by unilaterally adopting a new interpretation of the constitution, instead of formally revising the charter, saying it must be adapted to today's increasingly challenging security environment. The constitutional reinterpretation triggered public criticism that Abe's government undermined democracy. Opponents also say the change would cause Japan to do more in the bilateral alliance with the U.S.

In Washington, leaders of Senate committees overseeing U.S. defense and foreign policy welcomed the legislation's passage, saying it would contribute to international peace and security and strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance.

"We welcome a larger role for Japan in regional and global security affairs and look forward to our country working with Japan to implement these new measures," the Republican and Democratic committee leaders said in a joint statement Friday.

Even though many Japanese acknowledge growing security risks and have grown accustomed to sending peacekeepers overseas, many remain wary of a greater military role. Media surveys have consistently shown a majority of respondents oppose the legislation.

"This legislation betrays the constitutionalism, pacifism and democracy that Japan has built over the past 70 years since the end of World War II," said Tetsuro Fukuyama, a senior lawmaker representing the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan.

Opposition lawmakers chanted "Unconstitutional!" and "Invalid!" while casting a ballot during a vote on the bills at the upper house, which came at the end of the session.

[politicqxs 358]

Source: http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/09/18/japan-ruling-party-in-final-push-to-expand-role-of-military

Since Thursday, opposition parties had pulled out all the stops to delay the vote. They introduced a series of no-confidence measures against government ministers and parliamentary leaders, and made filibuster speeches.

One opposition lawmaker, Taro Yamamoto, used a snail-paced "cow walk" to shuffle to the podium to vote, while others made drawn-out speeches, a variation that has become known as the "cow tongue."

Yamamoto wore a black suit and tie with Buddhist prayer beads around his wrist, as if attending a funeral. He kept using "cow walk" tactic, ignoring repeated scolding by the house president to stop it and heckling from the ruling lawmakers criticizing him.

The maneuvers were destined to fail, but ate up hours of time requiring debate and votes on each measure.

As the drama played out in Parliament, protesters rallied outside for a fifth night in a row.

The legislation that lacks public support would face resistance in the future, said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan.

"In a way you can say that this legislation lacks legitimacy in the eyes of the people," he said. "It's going to be very controversial to actually invoke this legislation to justify dispatch of troops that obviously most people don't want. That probably has electoral consequences."

[Economy 52,835]

They should be focused on fixing their 25 year old economic stagnation...

 

Or their highest debt in the world status at 230% of GDP

[politicqxs 358]

They should be focused on fixing their 25 year old economic stagnation...

 

Or their highest debt in the world status at 230% of GDP

it's not just the flopping economy anymore.. The two ex-Nazi powers (Japan and Germany) desperately want to join the UN Security Council, to enhance its military and political influence,  unfortunately the other five big scoundrels (UK, France, U.S., Russia, and China) won't let them in.   

[politicqxs 358]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/23/justin-bieber-apologises-yasukuni-war-shrine-tokyo-photograph
 

Justin Bieber has apologised after posting a photograph that showed him standing in front of the controversial Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo.

The Canadian pop singer removed the image but only after it had been tweeted to his 51.1 million followers and attracted 660,000 likes on Instagram.

Bieber, who earlier in the week made a trip to the less politically combustible Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, later said he had been unaware of the shrine's controversial role, and issued an apology.

"While in Japan I asked my driver to pull over for which I saw a beautiful shrine," he wrote on Instagram. "I was mislead to think the shrines were only a place of prayer. To anyone I have offended I am extremely sorry. I love you China and I love you Japan."

China and South Korea regard Yasukuni, which honours leaders executed for war crimes among 2.5 million Japanese war dead, as a potent symbol of Japanese militarism.

Pilgrimages by Japanese politicians provoke angry outbursts from China, which sees the visits as evidence of Tokyo's failure to atone for atrocities committed on the Asian mainland, including in parts of China, in the 1930s and 40s.

Bieber's "impromptu" stop at Yasukuni came a day after 150 Japanese MPs paid homage at the shrine. Earlier in the week, the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, sent a ritual offering but stopped short of visiting in person, in an apparent attempt to avoid controversy on the eve of Barack Obama's arrival in Tokyo.

One Instagram photo showed Bieber, dressed in a white baseball cap, long hoodie and boots, standing in front of the shrine next to an unidentified person who has his head bowed. The caption reads: "Thank you for your blessings."

In another, the 20-year-old's hands are clasped together in prayer as he stands beside a shrine employee in religious robes.

The posts prompted a flurry of comment online. "Hey Justin, do u even know where that is?" wrote Instagram user vivien—kong. "Yasukuni shrine is the place where to worship the Japanese WWII soldiers. And do u have any efing idea that how the Japanese Nazi killed American and other Asian countries innocents?"

Others were more critical. "Maybe you are a giant in Japan and thats the reason why you like Japan," a Chinese user commented. "Anyway, please dont come to China forever, we really dont like stupid people." Another pleaded with him to remove the image.

Officials in Beijing said they were unaware of the visit, and appeared to give the singer the benefit of the doubt.

Qin Gang, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said he hoped Bieber had left Yasukuni with "a clear understanding of Japan's history of invasion and militarism, and of the source of Japan's militarism".

Mercifully, Bieber was not required to write in a visitor's book. He attracted widespread ridicule last year when, during a visit to the Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam, he wrote: "Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber."

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/25/justin-bieber-offence-south-korea-war-shrine-visit

Justin Bieber seems to have bungled his recent apology for visiting Japan's controversial Yasukuni war shrine. Although the singer said he didn't mean to offend his Chinese fans, he forgot to acknowledge South Korea – for whom visiting the Tokyo site is also considered an affront.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, several major South Korean news outlets ran the headline, "Bieber Forgets Korea in Apology for Yasukuni Shrine Visit". And the Wall Street Journal has compiled a handful of angry Korean Twitter users, including one who tweeted that Bieber "has lost all his Korean fans".

Bieber stopped at Yasukuni earlier this week, posing for photographs that were posted on his Instagram account. "Thank you for your blessings," he wrote as a caption. Soon after, following a flurry of angry comments, the singer's team removed the images.

The 20-year-old tried to explain himself on Wednesday. "While in Japan I asked my driver to pull over for which I saw a beautiful shrine," he wrote. "I was mislead to think the shrines were only a place of prayer. To anyone I have offended I am extremely sorry. I love you China and I love you Japan."

Erected in 1869, Yasukuni has become one of Japan's most provocative symbols. A shrine to the country's war dead, it also honours hundreds of convicted war criminals who participated in atrocities against Chinese and Korean civilians. Japanese politicians have frequently made pilgrimages to the site, in gestures to past militarism; Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering just a few days ago.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry stated that his country's position on Yasukuni is "clear-cut". "I don’t know the political opinion of the so-called 'Canadian famous singer'," said Qin Gang, "[but] I hope this Canadian singer, after visiting the Yasukuni shrine, can have a clear understanding of Japan’s history of invasion and its history of militarism."

[HANZ 4,380]

I think they just want to use it for defense, since countries like North Korea always want to start some crap

but I would understand why countries like China and South Korea would feel sad about Japan's desision to be a militar super power

Decades ago, back when Japan was a militar empire they did horrible things to their neighbors like the nanking massacre in China and the comfort women in Korean.

But Japan is no longer the same monster that they used to be, I actually fear other countries like China or Russia these days

[Luiz 4,253]

i thought this was their last ditch effort to stop this  

 

[Goosey 3,017]

This is awful. There's a reason they were only allowed a self-defense force... of course Obama won't step in to stop it...

[Luc 4,776]

I understand every side in this except for the 'pacifists' who would fight to remain the country's pacifism