Japan creates first defense ministry since WWII
Pastor Dale Morgan
Friday December 15, 7:54 PM
*
Japan creates first defense ministry since WWII*
Japan's parliament has enacted laws to create a full-fledged defense
ministry and to instill patriotism at schools, breaking two taboos
lingering since defeat in World War II.
The bills were legislative victories for embattled Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe, a passionate advocate of a more assertive Japan, who has faced
slipping poll ratings and on Friday survived a no-confidence motion.
The upper house approved the bill to create a cabinet-level defense
ministry for the first time since 1945, upgrading the "Defense Agency"
which had lower rank and influence. The lower house already passed it.
Abe, the first premier to be born after the war, has put a top priority
on creating a defense ministry and eventually rewriting the US-imposed
1947 constitution that declared Japan a pacifist country.
The bill enjoyed wide support, with the largest opposition party joining
the ruling coalition.
But Abe faced fierce criticism over his other reform, which would
require schools to teach students about "respecting tradition and
culture and loving the nation and homeland."
"This is of historic significance, shedding light on the basic
principles of education in the new era," Abe said after the hard-fought
victory in his first parliament session since becoming premier in late
September.
"Based on the spirit of the education law, we will drive to revive our
education to build a respectful, beautiful nation," he said in a
statement Friday.
But liberals say that patriotic education has echoes of imperialist
Japan during World War II when the emperor was considered a demi-god.
A united four-party opposition boycotted discussions on the education
bill, arguing the priority should be in fighting bullying in schools,
and on Friday sponsored a no-confidence vote against Abe.
He easily survived the motion, as his coalition holds a wide majority.
But Abe's poll numbers have slipped sharply since the start of the month
as voters question his commitment to reforms.
A Jiji Press poll of 2,000 voters released Thursday put approval for
Abe's cabinet at 41.9 percent, a drop of 9.5 points since November.
Officials have admitted stage-managing questions at "public meetings"
with ministers and Abe's Liberal Democratic Party readmitted lawmakers
who were ousted in a purge by his reformist predecessor Junichiro Koizumi.
"The opposition parties cannot have confidence in the Abe cabinet as it
is trying to carry out a false type of reform," said Naoto Kan, a senior
leader of the largest opposition Democratic Party.
Under the ministry reform, Defense Agency Director-General Fumio Kyuma
would take the title of defense minister from January, although Japanese
troops would still be called the "Self-Defense Forces".
Previous attempts to create a defense ministry stalled over political
sensitivities in light of Japan's past aggression and fears of upsetting
neighboring countries.
Despite its official pacifism, Japan has one of the world's biggest
military budgets at 4.81 trillion yen (41.6 billion dollars) a year.
Japan has steadily been assuming a more visible military presence to
counter its post-war image as solely an economic power.
In a groundbreaking move, Japan sent troops on a reconstruction mission
to Iraq, the first time since 1945 that it had deployed to a country
where fighting was underway.
Besides the strong symbolism, the bill would also give the defense
ministry more power in internal wrangling by letting it submit its own
budget requests.