Preparing For World War III Japan ends pacifist policy
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Preparing For World War III Japan ends pacifist policy*
By Yoko Kubota in tokyo
May 21, 2008 06:17pm
Article from: Reuters
JAPAN has passed a law allowing military use of space, ending a
decades-old pacifist policy as it casts a wary eye on North Korea's
nuclear ambitions and China's rising spending on its armed forces.
The law, which allows the military to launch its own satellites for
spying and warn of missile launches but rules out offensive weapons in
space, was approved by parliament's opposition-controlled upper house, a
sign of rare consensus in Japan's divided political arena.
Japan's space scientists and industry have long complained that the
separation of space development from the military since 1969 hampers
technological process in the sector.
Japan's powerful Keidanren business lobby had pushed for the law along
with a relaxation of the country's ban on arms exports in order to help
the nation's defence industry compete globally.
"The key point is that rather than just focusing on research and
development like before, this new law will balance R&D, the industry,
and security," Satoshi Tsuzukibashi, a director at one of Keidanren's
industrial affairs bureau, said.
"In the future, there will be more satellites and rockets used for space
security, so that is a positive factor for the space industry," he added.
The legislation mandates the creation of a new cabinet level post to
oversee Japan's space security, a move that could help pry more funding
out of tight-fisted finance bureaucrats worried about the nation's
bulging public debt.
Lance Gatling, an aerospace consultant in Tokyo, said the law might not
mean a sudden big boost in space security spending, but would lead to
better coordination among ministries. He said the new cabinet post
showed the importance of the law.
"It's not simply another small organisation that's underneath some large
organisation," Mr Gatling said.
"This is a top level effort by Japan, as it should be."
Japan's space program is run by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
(JAXA), with an annual budget of around ¥183 billion ($1.8 billion) but
others such as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) also
play a role in aerospace.
Japan has long held concerns about China's space and military programs
and North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities.
In January 2007, China alarmed the world by using a missile to shoot
down one of its own disused satellites, demonstrating its burgeoning
prowess in space and military hardware.
Japan was also shocked when North Korea fired a ballistic missile right
over the country in 1998.
Tokyo already has spy satellites, launched to keep an eye on North Korea
and controlled by a government department, but these provide far poorer
resolution than other governments' military satellites.
Tokyo this week came under renewed pressure from the United States, its
closest security ally, to increase its military spending, long subject
to an unofficial cap limiting the defence budget to less than 1 per cent
of gross domestic product.
Washington's ambassador to Tokyo Thomas Schieffer said on Tuesday that
Japan should share the costs of defending itself with the United States.
Japan's pacifist constitution prohibits maintaining a military, but has
been interpreted to allow armed forces for self-defence.
Subsequent governments have been stretching the limits of that
interpretation, for example by sending troops to southern Iraq in
2004-2006 on a non-combat, reconstruction mission.