International Meeting
2024 World Conference against A and H Bombs
Session 3: Solidarity of civil society and exchange of movements
Chisaka Jun
Secretary General, Japan Peace Committee
Struggle for a shift in the Japanese government policy from promoting “extended deterrence” and massive military buildup to joining to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
I would like to point out that the current LDP-Komei coalition government has promoted unprecedented military buildup and plots of making Japan a war-fighting country in tandem with the strengthening of the U.S. nuclear weapons use posture, which is a main factor of growing a risk of nuclear war in Asia. I would like to emphasize the importance of the struggle to end the present mal-administration of the government, make Japan join the TPNW and engage in peace diplomacy based on the Constitution.
Based on the horrors of war caused by Japan’s war of aggression and the experience of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Constitution of Japan proclaimed in Article 9 the prohibition of the use or threat of use of force and the renunciation of all war potential. This was based on the recognition that unless one of the countries decided to renounce war, a vicious cycle of arms race would lead to another world war, which would inevitably lead to a nuclear war and the annihilation of the human race. To save humanity from the nuclear annihilation, we must take the lead in disarmament effort – this, I believe, is the starting point of the Constitution. We must keep the light of this ideal.
The Kishida government, however, has bluntly turned its back on this principle. Invoking the “Three Security Documents” approved by the Cabinet in December 2022, it is pushing ahead with an unprecedented military buildup of 60 trillion yen between FY23 and FY27, including the burden to be borne in subsequent fiscal years, to become the third-largest military power in the world. This is based on the “War Laws” enforced by the Abe government in 2015, which allows Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defense in order to participate in U.S. wars. It aims to make the Self-Defense Forces a full-fledged military force that can play a role in attacking other countries along with U.S. forces. To this end, it is attempting to deploy a large number of long-range missiles by reinterpreting the Constitution to accommodate the possession of enemy base attack capability, which successive governments had acknowledged Japan could not have under Article 9 of the Constitution. As U.S. Ambassador to Japan Emanuel said, this would be an outrageous act that “retouches every detail of what was Japan’s postwar security policy of the past 70 years, overturning it from the ground up,” the policy developed on Article 9 of the Constitution and on the struggle of the Japanese people.
What is serious is that this massive military expansion is being pursued in tandem with the strengthening of the U.S. “extended deterrence” (i.e., readiness to use nuclear weapons in the event of an emergency).
This is also shown in the April Japan-U.S. Summit Meeting and Joint Statement, which reaffirmed “the critical importance of continuing to strengthen U.S. extended deterrence, which is enhanced by Japan’s increased defense capabilities, and to further enhance bilateral cooperation. On July 28, the “Japan-U.S. Ministerial Meeting on Extended Deterrence” was held for the first time, where the contents of the administrative level talks on the extended deterrence were confirmed and the direction to further strengthen them was also confirmed.
In the past few years, Japan-U.S. extended deterrence talks have included inspections of B1 strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles at U.S. nuclear-related facilities, as well as “interagency desk exercises” that simulate the use of nuclear weapons. And in the June 28, 2022 talks, it was confirmed that “visualization of U.S. strategic assets (weapons capable of carrying nuclear weapons) will be increased. Following these decisions, the number of joint drills between nuclear-capable B-52H strategic bombers and SDF fighters increased dramatically from 3 in 2022 to 14 in 2023, including two Japan-U.S.-South Korea joint drills. On July 12, 2023, for the first time in 32 years, a B-52H strategic bomber made an “emergency landing” at the U.S. Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, followed by an unannounced flight on April 2 of this year.
One B-52H strategic bomber can carry up to 20 nuclear cruise missiles, and the destructive power of a single missile is said to be up to 10 times that of a Hiroshima-type bomb. The joint training of the Self-Defense Forces with these nuclear bombers is nothing but “threatening by nuclear weapons” which is prohibited by the TPNW. We severely protest against this outrage and have urged the government to stop it.
A major complement to the U.S. readiness to use nuclear weapons is the enemy base attack capability (long-range missiles), which is the centerpiece of the military buildup plan. For example, one of the proponents of the grand arms buildup, Iwata Kiyofumi, former chief of staff of the Ground Self-Defense Force, stated in an article in the Sankei Shimbun, dated May 31, that “an in-depth discussion on nuclear deterrence is waited for.”
“It is significant that Japan’s conventional forces contributes to compensate for the missile gap in nuclear capability between the U.S. and China, thereby the U.S. extended deterrence will be strengthened. It is not impossible that Japan, with its standoff missiles loaded with conventional warheads deter Chinese missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.” As we see, the current massive military buildup of Japan is planned precisely as an integral part of the U.S. “nuclear deterrence”.
The “Integrated Air and Missile Defense” concept, which is being promoted as part of the massive military expansion plan, is a good example. Under the command of the U.S. military, the plan calls for mobilizing the long-range missiles and other forces of allied countries to preemptively attack enemy (nuclear) missile bases and air bases, as well as their associated command centers and infrastructure. In order to implement this, it is necessary to unify the command structure of the Self-Defense Forces under the command of the U.S. Forces. Therefore, the Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee met on July 28, decided to establish a Joint Force Headquarters in Japan under the Commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, which will command the Self-Defense Forces Joint Operations Command.
Once a war begins by missile attacks from both sides under the U.S. command, the whole of Japan will become a battlefield. Therefore, in this military expansion plan, 4 trillion yen of taxpayers’ money is being spent to “fortify” 2,000 Self-Defense Forces facilities nationwide in anticipation of nuclear war. Among these, Okinawa and the Nansei Islands are seen as the potential largest war base as they face China militarily across Taiwan. These islands are considered also as the base for missile units that will attack China together with the U.S., and will become the largest battlefield in the event of a contingency. Preparations for the evacuation of 120,000 residents from the Sakishima Islands to Kyushu and Yamaguchi prefectures in six days as well as the construction of shelters for them are now being implemented.
But how can people evacuate under missile attacks to all directions? In case of Okinawa where will be a major battlefield, there is no plan of evacuating the 1.3 million people on the main island of Okinawa. The government just says the “indoor evacuation”, which means that there will be no safe places to evacuate.
The people of Okinawa and the Nansei Islands are protesting against such government moves of military buildup, saying “We were abandoned like a ‘throwaway stone’ in Japan’s war of aggression, in which one of four Okinawans lost their lives. Are we forced to go through another tragedy like the battle of Okinawa for the sake of the U.S. war?” “Under such situation, we cannot tell our children to come back to the island.” In Okinawa, the assault of a young girl by a U.S. soldier was brought to light. It was also found that other sex crimes by U.S. soldiers and heinous incidents involving U.S. military had occurred but were not reported to the Okinawa local government. People’s anger is exploding. While giving lip service to “reducing the burden on Okinawa,” the government is imposing a new U.S. military base and military fortifications on the island. There is a growing movement to hold a citizens’ rally to condemn the outrages of the government and the US.
Not only in Okinawa, but all over the country, enormous military buildup is going on, including the construction of ammunition depots, fortification of bases, conversion of ports and airports into military bases, and training exercises with the introduction of the defective Osprey aircraft. Opposing such militarization to turn towns into war bases or battlefield, various actions are carried on and these movements are connected to each other and are spreading.
Let’s appeal to the people that this massive military expansion to turn Japan into a war-fighting state will intensify the nuclear arms race in Asia and is extremely dangerous leading to a nuclear war. Let’s enhance public opposition to the massive militarization policy and urge the Japanese government to join the TPNW and promote peace diplomacy based on the Constitution. We, the Japanese movement, are determined to do utmost to achieve this goal.
Let’s work hard together. Thank you.