{"id":15668,"date":"2013-07-19T08:11:36","date_gmt":"2013-07-19T13:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/japan-elections-come-amid-shifting-attitudes-on-countrys-military-posture\/"},"modified":"2024-04-13T22:38:05","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T03:38:05","slug":"japan-elections-come-amid-shifting-attitudes-on-countrys-military-posture","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2013\/07\/19\/japan-elections-come-amid-shifting-attitudes-on-countrys-military-posture\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan elections come amid shifting attitudes on country\u2019s military posture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever since its defeat in World War 2, Japan has officially been a nation without a military having adopted a provision in its constitution \u2013 Article 9<\/a> \u2013 that renounced war and forbid maintaining the potential for war. But after more than six decades, there are signs of shifts in Japanese attitudes, and elections on July 21 to choose half of the members of the the upper house of Japan\u2019s Diet may have an impact on whether it is changed.<\/p>\n

\"FT_Article_9\"<\/a>Talk about changing Article 9 \u2013 a move long sought by Japan\u2019s conservatives and opposed by both China and South Korea \u2013 comes at a time when the country has been more assertive<\/a> in regional security matters, such as its territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea..<\/p>\n

The fate of Article 9 may depend on how well the ruling Liberal Democratic Party fares in the July 21 election. If the LDP obtains a two-thirds majority, they would be in a position to amend the constitution to enable Tokyo to play a more active military role around the world.<\/p>\n

Even though Japanese voters say they will back the LDP in the upcoming election, they reject amending the constitution. A majority (56%) opposes Japan officially having a military and the ability to declare war. But that opposition has declined by 11 percentage points since 2006, when 67% were against constitutional revision. Such findings may be one reason why Abe advisers say that, whatever the outcome of the July 21 vote, they may forego any effort to formally amend the constitution. Instead, they may simply interpret Article 9 more broadly, to enable Tokyo to play a larger military role in the world.<\/p>\n

Japanese attitudes toward Japan\u2019s strategic posture are evolving. For some time there has been a robust public debate within Japan about whether Tokyo needs a military capacity and a willingness to engage in security operations commensurate with the country\u2019s stature as the world\u2019s third largest economy. But such ambitions have long been constrained by Japan\u2019s post-World War II constitution, which was specifically worded to limit that role.<\/p>\n

Notwithstanding such strictures, Japan does have a large Self-Defense Force. And, in recent years, these forces have been deployed internationally to provide humanitarian assistance and in peace keeping operations sanctioned by the United Nations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elections in Japan on July 21 to choose half of the members of the the upper house of Japan\u2019s Diet may be a referendum on changing constitutional limits on the country’s military 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