Japan lower house of parliament OKs expanded military role

[webfact]

Japan lower house of parliament OKs expanded military role
MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's lower house of parliament on Thursday approved legislation that would allow an expanded role for the nation's military in a vote boycotted by the opposition.

The vote came one day after Prime Minster Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc forced the bills through a committee despite intensifying protests.

Opposition lawmakers walked out after their party leaders made final speeches against the bills. Only members of the Japan Restoration Party voted for their counterproposal and against the ruling party legislation.

Abe wants to strengthen the military's role to counter China's growing presence in the region and contribute more to international peacekeeping efforts.

The legislation was crafted after his Cabinet last year adopted a new interpretation of Japan's pacifist constitution, which was drafted by the U.S. and has been in place since a year after the end of World War II.

Opponents, including lawmakers, legal experts and academics, counter that the new interpretation is unconstitutional.

Polls show that about 80 percent of Japanese find the bills hard to swallow, and the majority of them say they think the legislation is unconstitutional.

The legislation now moves to the upper chamber of parliament for further debate and a vote within 60 days.

If the upper house votes down the legislation or fails to vote within 60 days, it will be sent back to the lower house for a final say. However, Thursday's approval virtually guarantees enactment of the legislation into law because the more powerful lower house's decision overrides the upper chamber's vote.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-07-16

[Cats4ever]

I think they could manage the POW camps in Iraq, for starters.

[Baerboxer]

Restoration Party - what to a feudal Empire prepared to murder, rob, rape and pillage it's neighbors and ignore it's vicious war crimes?

Allowing Japan to expand militarily is a big mistake. The only thing they ever felt sorry for in WW2 was loosing.

[Credo]

Japan is a rather isolated country. It has few real friends or allies but it has some powerful enemies and some envious adversaries. The Chinese are a real threat. The Russians are still technically at a state of war, or at least a few years back they still were. South Korea occasionally erupts in anti-Japanese sentiment and the North Koreans enjoying shooting missiles in their general direction.

Their almost total reliance on the military alliance with the US is about the only assurance that they have of protection. The current direction that the US is headed militarily would seem to indicate that it would be in their best interest to stay alert and strong.

I have no doubt the US will go to their defense, but they need to be able to pull their own weight.

[NumbNut]

Restoration Party - what to a feudal Empire prepared to murder, rob, rape and pillage it's neighbors and ignore it's vicious war crimes?

Allowing Japan to expand militarily is a big mistake. The only thing they ever felt sorry for in WW2 was loosing.

Agree. And it would be a great start to change their school curriculum to educate their children towards Japan's true role during WWII.

Teach everything, don't miss anything out. Their victories, their defeats, and unfortunately, their atrocities.

How can you expect a country to change when they don't even know, and acknowledge, their own history? Warts and all...

[spidermike007]

This very courageous man is doing exactly that.

NAGANO, Japan — Kaname Harada was once a feared samurai of the sky, shooting down 19 Allied aircraft as a pilot of Japan’s legendary Zero fighter plane during World War II. Now 98 years old and in failing health, the former ace is on what he calls his final mission: using his wartime experiences to warn Japan against ever going to war again.

This has become a timely issue in Japan, as the conservative prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has called for revising Japan’s pacifist Constitution. On a recent afternoon in this alpine city near his home, Mr. Harada was invited to address a ballroom filled with some 200 tax accountants and their business clients.

After slowly ascending the stage with the help of his daughter, he stopped to hang up hand-drawn war maps and a sepia-toned photo of himself as a young pilot in a leather flight suit glaring fearlessly into the camera.

It was the same face that now turned to look at the audience, creased by age, and somehow softer and wiser. His body was so frail that his suit hung loose like a sail, but he spoke with a loud voice of surprising vigor.

He goes on to speak of the horrors of war, and what it meant to shoot down other planes and kill his enemies. He is doing what the government and the educational system will not. Creating awareness. Such a bold and heroic figure. Making the best of a horrific past. Got to admire that.

Edited July 17, 2015 by spidermike007

[hawker9000]

Restoration Party - what to a feudal Empire prepared to murder, rob, rape and pillage it's neighbors and ignore it's vicious war crimes?

Allowing Japan to expand militarily is a big mistake. The only thing they ever felt sorry for in WW2 was loosing.

This beast is China's doing, pure & simple (well, with a little help from that N. Korean psychopath & his nukes maybe...). And there'll be more of it in the region, you can be sure. See where appeasing the Chinese gets you?

Next lesson? Watch what happens in the Middle East now that Obama's given Iran its free hand.