1. The Japan-United States relationship seems abnormal. “Abnormal” because, even if it didn’t begin all of a sudden, since Koizumi came to power, and especially since 9.11, a situation that can only be described as “extreme abnormality” has become the norm.
This abnormality is evident in the way that the government sent an Aegis-equipped destroyer to the
Meanwhile, US Deputy Secretary of State Armitage, who ordered the Koizumi Cabinet to “show the flag” and get “boots on the ground,” recently stated in an interview that “Article 9 of the Constitution interferes in the Japanese-American Alliance” (Bungei shunju, March, 2004). In discussions with LDP Secretary General Abe Shinzo, Armitage declared that “the Japanese-American Alliance is going after North Korea” (Bungei shunju, July 2004), inciting calls in Japan to “revise Article 9” and “strike at North Korea.”
As someone with no connection to the Japanese government, I have complete freedom to criticise the constitution of other countries, but the statements of Deputy Secretary Armitage, a senior representative of the
But is this really so? Isn’t General Secretary Abe himself still operating under the mind control of cold war ideology and under the spell of an even harsher form of mind control, that of American world rule? The phrase “to contribute to world peace” reveals just how spellbound he is.
After the Bush administration came to power, especially after 9.11, it massacred many innocent people in
When I read these two men’s dialogue, I was reminded of Thomas Mann’s novella Mario and the Magician. During a summer sojourn at an Italian summer resort after the First World War around the time that Mussolini and fascism came to power in
2. I was reminded of Mario and the Magician when I read the Armitage-Abe dialogue because, in my imagination the image of the Bush administration, which while eloquently talking of “world peace,” aims at world domination and brandishes the whip of intimidation — “those countries that don’t join the war against terrorism are our enemies” — merges with that of the magician. In my imagination, the figures of Koizumi Jun’ichiro and Abe Shinzo, who happily follow suit, merge with those of the enthusiastically dancing audience members.
Described symbolically, this is the state of the current US-Japan relationship, but what is it like in reality? Demanding the withdrawal of the SDF from
In 1960, when the security treaty was revised, the Kishi Cabinet’s catchphrase was “By making the revised security treaty bilateral we have made
An “exchange of notes regarding the implementation of Article 6 of the treaty” was appended to the revised security treaty, by which it was agreed that “major changes in the deployment into Japan of United States armed forces, major changes in their equipment, and the use of facilities and areas in Japan as bases for military combat operations to be undertaken from Japan, shall be the subjects of prior consultation with the Government of Japan.”
Following 9.11, US forces stationed in Japan sallied forth from Okinawa, Yokosuka and Sasebo as part of the Afghanistan and Iraq offensives, and just recently, Okinawa-based US Marines were sent to Falluja where they are said to have been involved in the massacre of some 700 residents. Were these sorts of “major changes in the deployment into Japan of United States armed forces” and “use of facilities and areas in
To begin with, as President Okada points out, in its preamble the security treaty states that it was concluded to “maintain international peace and security in the Far East,” and in Article 1 the parties undertook “to settle any international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security are not endangered” and “to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other ways inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.”
How should the Bush administration’s pre-emptive attack, invasion and occupation of
The Bush administration’s breach of the security treaty relates not just to Article 1 but also to Articles 4 and 6. Setting aside a comparison of the breach and the letter of the treaty, it is clear that by the Bush administration’s disregard of the security treaty and the Koizumi Cabinet’s tacit approval of the Bush administration’s security treaty breach, the American and Japanese governments should be seen as effectively abolishing the security treaty.
3. In this way, the
First, American troops did not come to Japan after the US-Japan security treaty was signed, they were already stationed in Japan as an occupation force from the end of August 1945. Just as the occupation force lingers in
Second, in June 1950 when John Foster Dulles visited
We can only speculate on the basis of records and the contemporary situation why the Showa emperor supported Dulles’ proposal, but in my opinion the reasons are complex. For example, Professor Toyoshita refers to the fact that in February 1950 the Soviet Union had summoned the Emperor via the Far Eastern Commission to appear as a witness at a Khabarovsk tribunal prosecuting germ warfare “Unit 731,” and considers that even if the Emperor’s appearance before the Khabarovsk tribunal was not possible under the Allied Occupation, it was feared that following the withdrawal of American troops in accordance with the Peace Treaty, the Soviet Army would pursue the Emperor’s war responsibility (Toyoshita Narahiko, The Conclusion of the security treaty, Iwanami shinsho).
While this is possible, I also want to draw attention to the following passage in the account that secretary Matsudaira penned after he verbally conveyed the Emperor’s secret message to special envoy Dulles.
“His Highness considered that action which brought about the best possible outcome for both
One can only guess who the Emperor meant in referring to “many well-intentioned, efficient and foresighted people,” but no doubt Kishi Nobusuke was among them. In any case, the secret message was a big opportunity, and Dulles’ wish “to acquire the right to station as large a military force as we want in
Third, although the security treaty, which Prime Minister Yoshida signed at the 6th United States Army Headquarters on 8 September 1951 following the signing of the Peace Treaty with Japan, was so unequal that there was little prospect of its long-term operation, the Kishi Cabinet renewed it and paved the way for its long term operation.
When in July 1955 Foreign Minister Shigeharu, on behalf of the Hatoyama Cabinet, proposed to American Ambassador Allison a revision of the security treaty that included a provision for the withdrawal of US ground forces within six years, “the real objective of the United States was indefinite stationing of US forces in Japan,” and consequently the revision proposal was rejected (Haruna Mikio, The Secret Files, CIA manoeuvring against Japan (volume 2), Kyodo Tsushinsha).
When the Liberal Democratic Party was established resulting in the Hatoyama Cabinet in December 1955, Hatoyama, who was President of the Liberal Party became President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). In December 1956, at the LDP’s first presidential election held after President Hatoyama announced his intention to resign, Ishibashi Tanzan was elected as party president, and at the end of the year the Ishibashi Cabinet was formed. During the era of these two presidents and prime ministers, the LDP was by no means dependent on the
According to
According to Professor Schaller, this is how the LDP’s dependence on the
4. When illness reaches this stage it is obvious that treatment is needed, but who should provide it and how? The manifestation of extreme abnormality can be seen throughout
It is already over a half century since the Occupation and the establishment of the American military bases. Moreover, every time foreign aircraft carriers enter port — ports near the capital cities of so-called “friendly countries” considered “home ports” — they let loose their aircraft to airports located in densely populated areas, and frighten residents with noise and the risk of crash. Far from considering the havoc caused, there is talk of making them the home ports of nuclear-powered ships in several years time. What would American citizens think if some country was to do the same under their nose in
It goes without saying that this type of “extreme abnormality” has its origins in the Japan-US Security Treaty. The security treaty continues as before to threaten the lifestyle of Japanese citizens, and interferes with the normalisation of the Japan-US relationship. There can be no friendship when a foreign army lingers. Therefore, from any perspective, the normalisation of the Japan-US relationship is first and foremost a matter of creating fair and equal friendship and solidarity, and changing the security treaty into a Japan-US Treaty of Peace and Friendship.
With which neighbouring countries and neighbouring peoples is
I think that the only way to start is by ordinary Japanese citizens telling their American friends that the Japan-US relationship is in an extremely abnormal state, and discussing what must be done to create a truly trusting and friendly relationship. Among the Democratic candidates in the current American presidential elections are people like Congressman Dennis Kucinich who propose incorporating Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution into the American Constitution and changing the Department of State into a Department of Peace. The normalisation of Japan-US relations is also a matter of every citizen of the
Ito Narihiko is Professor Emeritus,
Translation for
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