Japan's lifting of ban on lethal arms exports marks break from pacifism: scholar

The easing of restrictions on arms export will move Japan away from its post-WWII pacifism and lead to substantive changes to its pacifist Constitution, which is very dangerous, said a Japanese scholar.

The Japanese government officially revised "the three principles on transfer of defense equipment and technology" and their implementation guidelines on Tuesday to allow overseas sales of weapons, including those with lethal capabilities, despite waves of large-scale protests.

The revision scraps rules that limit Japan's defense equipment exports to five noncombat categories, marking a shift in defense policy for a country that has touted itself as a "peace-loving nation" under its war-renouncing Constitution since its defeat in World War II.

Masataka Mori, a former professor of irenology at the Shizuoka University, voiced strong opposition to the revision in an interview following the announcement.

"I think this is a very serious problem. Since the end of World War II, Japan's stance in the world has been pacifist, but this may now be overturned or may have already been overturned at the national level. So I think this is an extremely serious problem. The removal of rules that limit Japan's defense equipment exports to five noncombat categories is an important step toward this shift. I think this will develop into substantive constitutional revision," Mori said.

Japan's Constitution, which took effect in 1947, is often referred to as the pacifist constitution because its Article 9 renounces war as a sovereign right and prohibits Japan from possessing "war potential," including military forces.

Mori stressed that the pacifist nature of the Constitution should never be changed.

"Japan once launched aggressions, causing extremely serious damage to other Asian countries, especially China. It was based on soul-searching about this part of history that Japan enacted its Constitution, particularly Article 9. Therefore, we must never forget this historical context. Article 9 of the Constitution represents a lesson learned from history. We have vowed to never wage war again. So I believe we should never amend the Constitution like this," said the scholar.

Japan's lifting of ban on lethal arms exports marks break from pacifism: scholar

The remains of 12 Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs who fell in action during the 1950-1953 War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, or the Korean War, were returned to China from the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Wednesday.

A Chinese Air Force Y-20B large transport aircraft carrying the remains of the fallen soldiers and 146 of their personal effects landed at the Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province. After it entered China's airspace, the Y-20B transport aircraft was escorted by four J-20 fighter jets.

The aircraft received the highest aviation honor of a water salute at the airport. CPV veterans and other attendees welcomed the martyrs' remains at the airport.

The Y-20B used the call sign "Ronggui 50" (meaning glorious return), symbolizing that the heroes who departed for war in 1950 are finally making their glorious return home.

The remains and personal effects of the fallen soldiers were then transported to the CPV martyrs' cemetery under the escort of a police motorcycle team.

Along the route of about 30 kilometers, more than 70,000 people from all walks of life lined the streets, waving national flags and holding banners to welcome the martyrs home and pay their respect.

A burial ceremony for the CPV martyrs' remains is scheduled to take place at 10:00 Thursday at the cemetery.

Since 2014, China and the ROK have completed 13 consecutive handovers involving the remains of 1,023 CPV martyrs in the ROK. Wednesday's mission also marks the first time the Y-20B has been deployed for the repatriation duties.

Remains of 12 Chinese martyrs in Korean War returned to homeland from ROK