Japan (catch all)

[marct]

From CBC

Japan passes bill to amend pacifist constitution
Key step towards once again intensifying Japan's military role
Last Updated: Friday, April 13, 2007 | 5:14 AM ET
The Associated Press

Japan's lower house of parliament on Friday approved guidelines for amending the pacifist constitution, a key step in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to give the military a larger global role.

The legislation passed easily because of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's majority in the chamber. The 1947 U.S.-drafted constitution has never been amended.

The vote came after members of the LDP and coalition partner New Komei Party pushed the legislation through a lower house panel meeting Thursday despite calls for more debate by the opposition.

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Given everything else going on in the region, this will be a very interesting debate to follow.

Marc

[PhilR]

The Japanese have a reasonably effective Navy and Air Force. They are hobbled by the same problems they had in WWII--lack of any conception of joint operations.
In working with their Ground Self-Defense forces, I find hardworking, intelligent officers. With few exceptions, however, I don't see a "warrior spirit." I'm not saying that they need an army of samuri's, but there is an intensity and element of risk-taking that is necessary. I just don't see it in their ground operations.

[Tom Odom]

I had the somewhat unique experience of coaching the Japanese on the ground in Goma, Zaire in their first out of area deployment since WWII. There was most definitely an unreal element to it; they--and these were fairly senior officers--were most out of place and they knew it. The Japanese DATT in Nairobi made a special trip to Kigali just to ask me to go talk to them. I did and gave them my pitch of the FAZ (Zairian military) as uniformed bandits. The Japanese Colonel looked at me and said, "Colonel you know what you have said to us is very different from what the French said." I simply pointed to some FAZ bandits outside his wire (the US wire left behind by the JTF) and asked him if those guys made him feel secure. As I recall the Japanese had 3 maybe 4 light troop carriers with no crew served weapons. Their small arms were secured inside the carriers and total numbers were around 80 men including officers. Their "mission" was to somehow provide security in the camps. I told the Colonel the best thing he could do was go home and not risk his men.

Best

Tom

[Stan]

Phil has a good point, they are effective (although I have seen better in the 80's while in Korea with Rock Marines and Japanese Infantry), but they seemed to step aside when danger comes a callin'.

Tom's first hand experience nearly made me fall out of my chair while reading his book. Tom provided an honest assessment from "on the ground" "front and center" and floored them. They obviously fell fool and victim to French know-it-all. Many have already.

Many Japanese credit the charter's pacifist clause with keeping the country out of war since 1945, preventing a resurgence of wartime militarism and allowing Japan to focus on becoming wealthy.

Abe and supporters, however, argue that Japan needs to take more responsibility in maintaining global peace and security. The country dispatched troops on a humanitarian mission to Iraq in 2004-2006, the first time since the Second World War that Japanese soldiers have entered a combat zone.

It's about time they spent a few bucks for world peace