Before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met President Donald Trump in Washington a couple of weeks ago, the Japanese fretted that Trump would ask Japan to send the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) to the Persian Gulf – even just a few ships or aircraft.
Anyone who has dealt with Japanese officialdom for any length of time can imagine the teeth-sucking followed by an anguished “too hard.”
Takaichi said beforehand that she would explain to “Donald” the limitations on what Japan could do. Implicitly, these are “constitutional” limitations – set by the Japanese constitution, which was, in fact, drafted by the Americans after World War II.
The Takaichi-Trump meeting proved to be pure bonhomie, and the “JSDF to the Gulf” issue never came up in public – or in the official readout afterwards.
But here’s a question worth considering: Does Japan’s constitution really preclude the deployment of the Self-Defense Force?
The best place to start is the actual text of the Constitution of Japan, which supposedly enshrines Japanese “pacifism” and handcuffs Japan when it comes to defense activities.
ARTICLE 9. (1) Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
(2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.
How limiting is the language?
The plain language is clear, even for non-lawyers.
Japan cannot have a military and will not fight. The wording almost suggests that Japanese people should barely be allowed to have knives and forks. One hardly blames the Americans in 1945 for writing the document the way they did.
However, the constitution has been interpreted (and reinterpreted) out of any possible connection to its original meaning.
Almost from the day it was ratified, Japan has always done whatever it feels it must do to defend itself, regardless of the constitution.
It sent minesweepers (with American encouragement) to support United States and United Nations forces in the Korean War in 1950 – and suffered casualties.
Japan also built up a highly professional “self-defense” force that is a real military – with army, air force, navy and the weapons and hardware that come with them. By some measures, the JSDF is the seventh most powerful military in the world – no matter what it is called.
Japan’s military deployed to Iraq during the war in 2004, even if in a non-combat role. It has an overseas base in Djibouti, conducts exercises throughout the Indo-Pacific, helps the Philippines defend itself, and is sending hundreds of troops to participate in combat training in the Philippines in April. Japan offered to build submarines for Australia in 2016 and recently signed a deal to build destroyers for the Australians.
That’s some “pacifist” nation.
The alliance defense guidelines
The US-Japan defense guidelines enacted in 2015 provide a further legal basis for doing just about anything Japan wants to do – assuming it wants to do it.
But the American-imposed constitution (as many Japanese call it) has long been the go-to excuse for Japan to avoid doing anything it doesn’t feel like doing.
Think of a “Get Out of Jail Free” card from the popular board game, Monopoly.
And Japan’s leaders know that it works with the Americans (and others).
But what it really means is Japan wants to avoid the political exertion necessary to send the JSDF somewhere, or to do something defense-wise. Particularly if it’s dangerous.
That worked for decades. Especially when there didn’t seem to be much danger about, and memories of World War II were fresher. And anyway, the US military alone could handle things regionally and globally.
The US needs Japan’s help
Those days are over. And the US needs Japan’s help – and help a lot closer to the front line than ever. That’s important operationally and also politically.
At the end of the day, Japan is a good ally. Maybe America’s best ally of the so-called “major” ones. Japan knows the US-Japan alliance is indispensable for its defense – and by and large acts like it.
It’s also a huge investor in the United States. It didn’t whine too much about Trump’s tariffs or his demand for $550 billion in investment. Japan is building up its military, and compared with NATO nations’ forces, it’s practically a military juggernaut.
There is talk in Japan about sending minesweepers to the Persian Gulf – after a ceasefire has been signed, and it’s not so dangerous.
But ultimately, Takaichi and Japan squandered an opportunity to stand side-by-side with the Americans – instead of doing the figurative equivalent of hiding in the bathroom until the brawl your friend is fighting is finished.
Takaichi, of course, had reasons for doing so. But the Constitution was an excuse, not a reason.
Grant Newsham is a retired US Marine officer and former US diplomat. He was the first US Marine liaison officer to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and was instrumental in promoting the JSDF’s initial moves towards an amphibious capability. Newsham is the author of the book When China Attacks: A Warning To America.
This article was first published by JAPAN Forward. It is republished with permission.