Japanese experts have voiced opposition to the government's repeated push to amend the postwar pacifist constitution and increase defense spending on the occasion of the country's Constitution Memorial Day which is held every year on May 3.
Japan's current constitution, written in 1946 and adopted in 1947, has gained the fame as the pacifist constitution due to the constitution's Article 9 and its commitment to renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. The constitution also vows to never maintain land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, and not recognize the right of belligerency of the state.
Japan's constitution is a symbol that Japan sticks to the peaceful development path, and a confession to the people and countries who suffered from Japanese militarism during World War II.
However, over the past few years, the Japanese government has sought to amend the constitution and hiked its defense budget, triggering concerns among experts and scholars who say the government should reflect on the country's history of invasion and stop making further mistakes by pursuing military expansion.
"Japan has a history of war crimes, but in the 80 years after the war, the country has been lenient toward historical revisionism and evasive about its reflection and understanding of its history of crimes. Regarding these issues, including colonial rule and aggression, I think the Japanese people should speak out more," said Akiyoshi Takanashi, secretary-general of the Kanagawa Citizens' Association for Considering History Education.
Japanese experts say that Japan has not conducted deep reflection after World War II, and this must be corrected.
"The Japanese public hopes for Japan to emerge as a peaceful major country, not a military one. This is the profound reflection that Japan should have made after the World War II. Unfortunately, the Japanese government has not only increased its defense spending to 8.7 trillion yen (about 60 billion U.S. dollars), but has also failed to engage in any reflection. This is something that must be corrected," said Atsushi Kouketsu, an emeritus professor at Yamaguchi University.
"To prevent another wrongful war of aggression, Japan enacted the pacifist constitution and the Article 9 of the constitution as a commitment to world peace. However, the Liberal Democratic Party regime has repeatedly tried to amend the constitution to make Japan a country capable of waging war. I believe that we must not go down this wrong path. Amending the constitution is taking a wrong path," said Takakage Fujita, secretary-general of the Association for Inheriting and Propagating the Murayama Statement.
Japanese experts oppose gov't push to amend constitution, increase defense spending
Japanese experts oppose gov't push to amend constitution, increase defense spending
