A Japanese Prime Ministerial committee called for recognition of Japan’s rights to collective defense, adding another variable to Northeast Asia’s regional security issues.

According to the Japanese broadcaster NHK, a prime ministerial committee released a report saying that Japan should be allowed to exercise rights of collective defense.

This would allow Japan to enter combat to help its allies, even when it is not directly attacked.

“Related interpretations (of laws) should be changed to allow collective defense in order to uphold proactive pacifism in the long-term,” the report said.
The report, however, contradicts Japan’s so-called “peace constitution,” specifically article nine that stipulates that Japan shall not become involved in military conflicts.

Article nine of the Japanese constitution states “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.”

The article also states that “the right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.”

Although the Japanese government has yet to make overt moves to revise the constitution, many right-wing politicians have called for such changes, and several minor changes have been made to related laws giving the island nation more leeway in military issues.

In 2010, Japan revised self-defense regulations to give the Japan Self-Defense Forces greater mobility.

The Japanese government also eased regulations regarding the exports of defense equipment last year. In June, Japan’s atomic laws were revised, which is perceived by critics as opening the way for Japan to arm itself with nuclear weapons.

The right-wing Liberal Democratic Party’s plans to revive Japan included revising the constitution to guarantee Japan the rights of self-defense and to change the name of the Self-Defense Forces to “national defense force.”

While not as extreme, left-wing politicians including Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda are said to support the idea of giving Japan the right of collective defense.

However, observers say that any immediate changes to the Japanese constitution, or the interpretation of article 9 is highly unlikely.

“It is very unlikely that the constitution will be revised. Japan may want more military flexibility but it there are many factors that need to be considered,” a government official said declining to be named.

While developments in Japan add new sources of potential discord in the region, the South Korea-Japan military information sharing agreement continued to fuel controversy.

Local politicians continued to lambast Cheong Wa Dae and government officials for attempting to push the agreement through without consulting the National Assembly.

On June 29, Seoul and Tokyo were set to sign the General Security of Military Information Agreement but the plans were postponed at the last minute by request of the ruling Saenuri Party.

At the time, the Seoul government said that related processes will be carried out more carefully after discussions with the National Assembly.

However, it was later revealed that officials from Seoul’s Ministry of National Defense and the Japanese foreign ministry had initialed the provisional version of the agreement back in April.

Following the revelation that the government had attempted to forge the deal with Japan behind close doors, Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade began probes to shed more light on how the process was conducted.

The Defense Ministry was also reported to have launched an investigation, but the ministry declined to comment further on the issue. saying only that it will wait for any investigation to be concluded.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)