The government and its party rammed unpopular bills through the parliament and most opposition parties walked out in protest Thursday. That happened not in Seoul but in Tokyo, but Koreans could hardly laugh, even in their sleeves, knowing what all this was about ― Japan’s eventual comeback as a global military power.
It is true that Japan, like most other countries, should be able to exercise the right to collective self-defense, as guaranteed by the United Nations. To do so, however, Tokyo should revise its Constitution, especially Article 9, which calls for “renouncing war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat of use of force as means of settling international disputes.”
Up to 60 percent of the Japanese people oppose such an amendment, and the country’s top legal experts share the view Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s efforts to “reinterpret” the article in question instead of taking on the uphill legislative struggle is nothing but a violation of the Constitution.
The Abe administration’s expediency was embarrassing enough, but railroading of these bills raises doubts about the Japanese leaders’ political common sense and sound judgment.
Only recently, Tokyo dropped Korea from its list of partners that share democratic principles, citing Seoul’s expulsion of a Japanese journalist who criticized President Park Geun-hye based on rumors and dubious sources. Yet the Japanese government, too, reportedly cracked down on critical foreign press and showed a parliamentary scuffle that Tokyo has derided as befitting younger democracies, such as Korea and Taiwan.
We hope conscientious Japanese politicians and citizens will scuttle their leaders’ undemocratic moves, which causes unrest among Asian neighbors.
Given the Liberal Democratic Party’s comfortable parliamentary majority ― and the unswerving support from Tokyo’s ally and protector, the United States, however, Premier Abe’s scheme to upgrade Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to a regular army that can wage war anywhere in the world along with Americans will likely succeed, forcing Korea to hurry up preparations.
Officials here say Tokyo will have to win Seoul’s approval in advancing to the Korean Peninsula even if North Korea attacks the U.S. forces stationed in South Korea. Korean diplomats must turn the rough agreement into extremely detailed accords on what is allowable and what is not, lest their Japanese counterparts should say otherwise later, as they did to win World Heritage status for their 19th-century industrial facilities from UNESCO. Japan had agreed to make clear Korean forced laborers’ plights but is pretending otherwise once their goal has been met.
We cannot help but doubt the Park administration’s will and ability to deal with reemerging military power next door. The Chinese government issued a strong protest to Abe’s legislation in stark contrast to Seoul’s muted response. Little wonder Abe will reportedly apologize, in his Aug. 15 statement, for Imperial Japan’s invasion (of China), but not for colonization (of Korea).
A government’s diplomatic ability corresponds to its national power, but not always so. Sadly, Park’s team does not seem to be the rare exception.