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Japan Repealing Article 9 and Its Subsequent Effects on the Asia Pacific Region

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Japan Repealing Article 9 and Its Subsequent Effects on the Asia Pacific Region RUNNING HEAD: REPEALING ARTICLE 9 Japan Repealing Article 9 and its Subsequent Effects on the Asia Pacific Region Geo Warrick GMA 460 Dr. Nincic 1 JAPAN REPEALING ARTICLE 9 Abstract After World War Two, Japan was in a state of reformation under the political and military influence of the United States. As a result of their aggression and actions during the war, the United States imposed a new constitution for their government. This new constitution had an article that forbade Japan from having a standing military and denied Japan the right to wage war ever again. Article 9 has been in Japan's constitution for over seventy years and is now up for debate on whether or not the article should be repealed. The population of Japan is split on this decision due to the humiliation of acts during the Second World War. In the modern geopolitical climate, Japan is facing threats such as an aggressive superpower like China who is violating territorial boundaries with Japan. Also, foes such as North Korea, a rogue regime with nuclear weapon capabilities. Many other countries in the Asia Pacific region do not want Japan to have a formal military anymore because of resentment from World War Two. However, there is a multitude of changes going on regarding international relations with Japan's strongest allies. This leads Japan with the necessity to be able to provide their own nation with defense. 2 JAPAN REPEALING ARTICLE 9 Introduction In the years following the Second World War, many countries in the Asian Pacific region was in the process of rebuilding. Japan was one of these countries since their conditional surrender the United States imposed a new rule of law for the reborn nation. As a result, their constitution was redrafted and out of that came Article 9. This article states: “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. 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”(“The Constitution of Japan,” 1946). This made Japan adopt a new pacifist constitution, allowing them never again to have a traditional military. The term pacifist concerning the Japanese constitution means that the Japanese do not have the right of belligerency or in short, the right to wage war (Hermesauto, 2017). Seventy years later, this is now a topic of debate not only within Japanese politics but amongst the people as well. One group of people want to remain a pacifist country while another group wants to have a more traditional military and have Japan be nationalistic again. Many fear that the repercussions of the decision if Japan does repeal their ninth article, what will happen to the country? Not to forget that there are other significant players in the region that this will likely effect. Japan is walking on a thin line between aggravating its rogue neighbors and having many other international repercussions that might take place if they decide to change Article 9. This is having questions arise from the citizens of Japan as well as other states from the international scene. The problem is, what is likely to happen to the country as well as what will happen to the 3 JAPAN REPEALING ARTICLE 9 geopolitical sphere that is the Asia Pacific region? This choice can have excellent benefits for Japan or can lead them down a similar road to that of World War Two. Thesis Statement If Japan goes through with repealing their ninth article in their constitution, the effects will cause a geopolitical divide between the neighboring countries in the Asia Pacific Region. Research Questions Questions that this thesis will cover are, what caused Japan to have a pacifist article in their constitution? Along with how has this article shaped modern Japanese politics and society? Lastly, what will happen to the geopolitical region of Pacific Asia if Japan repeals Article 9 and has a more traditional and offensive capable military? History/Background Early Era of Japanese Aggression The road to Japan's actions began nearly a decade before the United States involvement in World War Two. In the early 1930's Japan ferociously and aggressively began to expand their territories in order to spread its sphere of influence. The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces took over areas in China as well as invaded territories in the Soviet Union. Along with these territories that they took over close to their mainland, they began to invade islands across the Pacific Ocean. This, in turn, became known as the Era of Japanese Aggression. During the 1920s and 1930s, Japan was facing a significant economic problem triggered by a lack of natural resources such as iron, rubber, and oil(“The Early War in the Pacific | Boundless US History,” n.d.). The lack of natural resources caused them to want to 4 JAPAN REPEALING ARTICLE 9 acquire territories in order to establish economic self-sufficiency and further support their theory of isolationism. With this new strategy on the board of Japanese military officials, they began to look towards the greater East Asia region, specifically Manchuria China. This invasion of Manchuria was justified by what is known as the Mukden Incident. In September of 1931, there was an attempt to blow up a portion of Japanese railroad in Manchuria. The attempt failed, and the Japanese Army invaded the next day with this incident as the driving factor. As the years went on Japan eventually wanted more territory to exploit and looked towards greater China. They invaded China in 1937, eventually making the conflict known as the Second Sino-Japanese War. After successfully conquering Shanghai, the Japanese Army went on to capture more Chinese cities. By the end of 1937, they captured the Chinese Nationalist city of Nanking. Subsequently, they began systematically killing, raping and pillaging the city of Nanking(“The Early War in the Pacific | Boundless US History,” n.d.). This became known as the “Rape of Nanking” and shed light on the beginning of the Era of Japanese Aggression. A year later, the Japanese invaded territory that belonged to the Soviet Union. This led to what is known as the battle of Lake Khasan. The Japanese Army used the reasoning that the Soviet Union got the boundary wrong and was impeding on their rightfully owned territory that was outlined in the Treaty of Peking. This resulted in the Battle of Khallkin Gol where the Japanese suffered exponential losses and was more of a pyrrhic victory for Japan. A neutrality pact was signed, and the Soviet Union promised to respect the territory that Japan had rightfully owned as long as Japan did not try to go any further in the Soviet Union(“The Early War in the Pacific | Boundless US History,” n.d.). World War II 5 JAPAN REPEALING ARTICLE 9 In September of 1940, Japan signed an alliance with Nazi Germany, and Fascist Italy called the Tripartite Pact. This was to establish mutual protection as well as cooperation both technologically as well as economically. This then caused the United States to place an oil Embargo on Japan, leading Japan to attack Pearl Harbor in the following months. The goal was to cripple the United States Navy long enough for Japan to establish a buffer zone in Southeast Asia and enhance the abilities to defend it. With the attack on Pearl Harbor, this led the United States to declare war on Japan which fully immersed them into both theatres of the Second World War. The Japanese aggression did not stop here. In the following days of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Army and Navy launched simultaneous attacks on Hong Kong, British Malay, and the Philippines. During these campaigns that the Japanese Army carried out, they massacred thousands of Chinese, American troops and Filipinos as well(“The Early War in the Pacific | Boundless US History,” n.d.) They captured vital points for oil in and around the country of Indonesia and seized strategic islands in the Pacific in order to supply their war machine. To combat the growing Japanese empire, the United States and Allied Forces launched an offensive on the Island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. This battle lasted from August to November and ended in an allied victory. Not only was this a huge blow to the moral of the mighty Japanese Imperial Navy and Army, but it was also the turning point of the war(“The Early War in the Pacific | Boundless US History,” n.d.). This changed the allied outlook on the Japanese military and led to more offensive rather than defensive operations throughout the Pacific. Following more battles in the Pacific, and the Allied forces getting closer to mainland Japan, a solution for a more expedited surrender from Japan was in the works. The Potsdam Declaration was issued in July on 1945 by President Truman, Prime Minister Churchill, and 6 JAPAN REPEALING ARTICLE 9 President Chiang Kai-shek of China. These three nations were meeting to draft post-war policies in the Pacific Region. The Potsdam Declaration called for the Japanese to surrender and provided defining terms for the surrender. These terms outlined the post-war plan after Japans ultimate surrender. However, the third paragraph hints towards the usage of the two atomic bombs that were used in the following weeks of this declaration (Butow, 1954). Further, into the declaration, the three nations outline a plan for Japan's occupation and recovery after their surrender.
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