According to a report by the U.S. "Defense Blog" on October 10, Japanese Defense Minister Nakagawa announced that two Japan Ground Self-Defense Force instructors will be dispatched to Lithuania to provide landmine clearance training for Ukrainian soldiers.

This mission will last from November 3 to December 5, organized jointly by Lithuania, Iceland and other countries, with an expected participation of 20 Ukrainian soldiers.

Although the scale is small, the significance is great. This is the first time Japan has directly participated in anti-Russian actions in Europe as military personnel.

At the same time, Japan is also taking action in the Asia-Pacific region. In September this year, Japan and the Philippines officially launched the "Reciprocal Access Agreement", providing a legal basis for Self-Defense Forces personnel to enter the Philippines and participate in joint exercises.

Less than a month after the agreement came into effect, Japan and the Philippines conducted joint air force training activities including humanitarian relief and air coordination operations.

In other words, from the Baltic Sea to the South China Sea, Japan is expanding the scope of its Self-Defense Forces' activities in an unprecedented way. Although the form is still non-combat support, it has essentially gone beyond the framework set by the post-war system.

Japanese Defense Minister Nakagawa

These two operations are undoubtedly laying the groundwork for normalizing the country.

Returning to a normal country is the long-term political ideal of conservative politicians in Japan. The core is to get rid of the constraints of the Peace Constitution and become a common country with full military power and the right to war.

However, Article 9 of the Constitution clearly prohibits Japan from maintaining land, sea, and air forces and denies the right to wage war. True military forces, overseas deployments, and collective self-defense are extremely sensitive in terms of jurisprudence.

Therefore, in real politics, the normalization of the country often adopts a circuitous strategy, gradually breaking through at the policy level, and then gradually gaining public acceptance under the reasons of international situation and national security.

This is precisely the key to Japan dispatching instructors to Lithuania and signing a deployment agreement with the Philippines.

Once the deployment of overseas personnel, joint deployment, and establishment of overseas supply chains become the norm, the so-called Peace Constitution would already be a mere formality. Even without constitutional amendment, the country's actual operation has already crossed that line.

The non-combat support shell provides a buffer for domestic anti-war public opinion, reducing social resistance. It is like boarding the train first and then making up the ticket later, cooking the rice before talking about other things.

Japan Self-Defense Forces

The election of Takayuki Kishida will undoubtedly accelerate this process significantly.

As one of the most radical right-wing politicians in the Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida is not only a successor to the Abe route, but also the person with the clearest and most intense stance on constitutional amendment and military policy.

She advocates explicitly writing the Self-Defense Forces as the National Defense Forces in the Constitution, supports the capability to attack enemy bases, and emphasizes that Japan must be able to independently repel enemy attacks.

Different from previous conservative figures like Kishida, who were more moderate, Kishida is a political figure who openly advocates that Japan must become a country capable of warfare again.

Under her leadership, not only will the issue of constitutional amendment be put on the agenda, but more importantly, she will grant the Self-Defense Forces more authority to act proactively.

It can be anticipated that once she receives the prime ministerial nomination in the parliament, Japan will further accelerate its path toward so-called defense liberalization.

From sending instructors now to establishing permanent bases, from joint exercises to regional military deployments, Japan will no longer be satisfied with constitutional interpretations, but will move towards complete restructuring.

Takayuki Kishida

At the root of Japan's current strategic direction is creating facts on the ground, using the so-called security situation and regional tensions to pressure the people to accept the de facto voiding of Article 9 of the Constitution, and even the complete revision in the future.

Its strategy is to let the Self-Defense Forces go abroad first, sign military access agreements with allies such as the United States, Australia, and the Philippines first, create a climate of "China threat" and "Russia threat" through the media, and then tell the people: Look, we have already deployed globally, and face "threats". If the Constitution is not revised, the country would be more dangerous.

This logic is to package unconstitutional acts as practical responses, allowing anti-war public opinion to gradually compromise in the face of facts.

Now you say mine clearance is not combat, and the next day you say joint exercises are not war. Then a few years later, when Japanese soldiers appear in the front lines of the Middle East, Eastern Europe, or Southeast Asia, whether the Peace Constitution exists or not would make little difference.

This is the path that Kishida and others have already designed. Until an entire generation of Japanese people think these have become the norm, there will be no resistance.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7559813836321997366/

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