The following is from an article by Takamasa Kadota that appeared in the Sankei Shimbun's "Sound Argument" on April 30.
He is one of the most spirited writers and journalists in Japan today.
This article is a must-read not only for the Japanese people but also for people around the world.
Article 9 of the Constitution has become an "enemy of life" for the people.
Article 9 of the Constitution, which denies the possession of land, sea, and air forces and the right of the nation to engage in war, has been sanctified by leftist forces as a symbol of the Peace Constitution.
However, I would like to discuss how this article has become the "enemy of life" for the people.
Amid drastic changes in the international situation
The Constitution of Japan, which will soon be 74 years old, is the "world's oldest constitution" in the sense that not a single word of it has been changed since its establishment.
In World War II, Germany, another defeated country, overcame the Allies' intervention and drafted its Constitution in May 1949 at a parliamentary council composed of politicians and lawyers, establishing the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Since then, it has been amended more than sixty times to respond to changes in domestic and international circumstances.
In this sense, it is the counterpart of the Japanese Constitution, which has not changed at all.
Why, then, has the Japanese Constitution become the "enemy of life" for the people?
The 76 years since the end of World War II have brought about unimaginable changes in the international situation.
But the last ten years, especially the last five years, have seen tremendous changes.
The reason lies in China's "change of status quo by force.
I should confess that I was not an ardent advocate of constitutional revision until this drastic change.
During the Cold War, which lasted for a long time after the war, the need to revise the Constitution was not as high as today.
It was because the front line of the Cold War was in Europe.
However, with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the communist countries fell one after another, and finally, the Soviet Union, our ally, was dissolved and became Russia.
Japan was able to enjoy peace under its nuclear umbrella by throwing security into the United States.
Eventually, however, a country appeared that destroyed the international order.
No countermeasures" against China's invasion
It is the People's Republic of China.
Since its founding in 1949, it has included Tibet, Uyghur, and Southern Mongolia in its territory, trampled human rights in Hong Kong, and made no secret of its intention to invade Taiwan.
In the South China Sea, it has become a military base by reclaiming reefs in the exclusive economic zone of other countries. It has declared the Senkaku as its territory to Japan and has repeatedly invaded the territory every day.
"We are ready to use force to protect our territory (* the Senkaku) whenever necessary."
This word, which military executives always speak, is nothing but a statement of intention to seize the Senkaku at any time.
In other words, every country in East Asia is under threat from China.
The critical point is the "restoration of the great Chinese nation" that President Xi Jinping has been proclaiming since 2013.
It means that China will seize global hegemony by 2049, the centennial of its founding.
It is a solid reference to the "Sinocentrism" that successive dynasties once boasted.
The Chinese empire is at the center of the world, and the barbarians around it follow the kingdom and pay tribute.
For the Chinese people, this is the ideal form of the world.
And there is the first part to these words.
It is a way of clearing the resentment over the "hundred years of shame.
It will carry out the revival of the great Chinese nation after the 100 years of humiliation since the Opium War has been cleared away.
There is the concession created in a big city, the founding of Manchuria, and the continental rule by the input of more than one million troops.
We must not forget that Japan is the main enemy against which China is releasing its resentment.
However, Japan has no countermeasures against China's invasion.
It is still relying on the United States alone.
In 1949, Europe created NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and took measures to counter the Soviet Union with the deterrent power of collective self-defense.
The idea was that if the Soviet Union attacked a member country, it would be seen as an attack on the whole, and "the whole world would fight back.
This collective security system has protected Europe from Soviet and Russian aggression for 72 years.
My Proposal for a Revision to Protect Peace through Deterrence
Since 2000, there have been countries that have been split between success and failure in joining NATO.
These are the Baltic States and Ukraine, and Georgia.
Despite struggling with Russian intervention, the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia have joined NATO.
On the other hand, Ukraine and Georgia were unable to join NATO due to the solid pro-Russian forces in their countries and their inability to build public opinion.
It is still fresh in our memory that Ukraine suffered from the annexation of Crimea and Georgia suffered from the independence of two states.
It isn't very comforting because it is very similar to Japan, where China has corrupted politics, business, government, and the mass media.
The deterrent power of collective self-defense will keep the peace.
We must stop China from changing the status quo by force by creating an Asian version of NATO through a scrum of nations, not just the United States.
However, this is not possible in Japan due to Article 9 of the Constitution, which denies the right of collective self-defense.
It is the reason why the Constitution has become the "enemy of life" for the people.
The acquisition of the right to collective self-defense is urgent, and at the same time, the constitutionalization of the Self-Defense Forces is essential.
Based on these two points, I propose a specific amendment to Article 9 of the Constitution.
Article 9 of the Constitution
The people of Japan shall sincerely seek international peace based on justice and order.
To maintain international peace and protect the lives, property, and territory of the people, Japan shall maintain the Self-Defense Forces, shall not permit the aggression or interference of any nation, and shall maintain its independence forever.
To protect the lives of our families and descendants, we must fulfill our historic mission.
