South Korean protesters stage a rally to protest against Japanese parliament’s possible approval of the controversial security legislation in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul
China said Japan’s approval of “unprecedented” legislation to expand its military role risked unsettling the region’s security.
Japan’s lower house of parliament yesterday approved legislation that would allow an expanded role for the nation’s military in a vote boycotted by the opposition.
China, which along with Korea bore the brunt of Imperial Japan’s expansion in the early 20th Century, said yesterday that the legislation – which would allow Japan to defend other countries under attack – could spur a major change in the pacifist military stance adopted by Tokyo after World War II.
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 passage of the bills was an unprecedented move in the post-World War II era, and would have complex effects on the regional security environment,” the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement published by the state-run Global Times. “We will closely watch how Japan makes its next move.”
The vote on the security bills threatens to further strain ties between Japan and its neighbors, which have shown signs of improvement in recent months. The U.S., which has ensured Japan’s defense since the conflict, is seeking a greater security role for its ally as China becomes a naval power.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe brought the legislation to a vote just weeks before he’s expected to make a statement to mark the 70th anniversary of the war’s end. Both China and South Korea have called on Abe to apologize for wartime atrocities committed during occupation by Imperial Japan.
Passage of the security bills “could provide more ammunition to nationalism in both China and Japan, which could hurt the still fragile bilateral ties,” said Wang Xinsheng, a professor of history who specializes in Japan and East Asian politics at Peking University. “The new bills could also refresh neighbors’ memories of Japan’s wartime aggression and spark an arms race in the region.”
Japan’s ties with China and South Korea have deteriorated as territorial disputes flared and new leaders adopted more assertive foreign policies.
The value of trade between South Korea and Japan fell 6 percent in 2014 from the previous year. Japan’s trade with China was stagnant last year after sliding 6 percent slide in 2013.
Narushige Michishita, a professor of security studies at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, said the legislative change was necessary to move Japan away from isolationism. “It’s a significant responsible decision on the part of Japanese leaders to go ahead and start sharing some more burdens,” he said.
Abe’s efforts to court his regional counterparts in recent months have appeared to bear fruit, despite his continued pursuit of the security legislation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has met Abe twice since November. Last month, Abe and South Korean President Park Geun Hye called for an improvement in ties over the next half-century.
“Japan’s discussions on defense policy should be made transparently, adhering to the pacifist constitution and supporting regional peace,” Yoo Chang Ho, a spokesman for South Korea’s foreign ministry, said in a press briefing yesterday in Seoul. “We solemnly urge the Japanese government to learn from history, insist on peaceful development, and respect the safety concerns of all Asian countries.”
If Japan’s upper house refuses to take up the security bills, a second vote in the lower house would pass them into law. The vote drew harsh rebuke from China’s state-run media, with the official Xinhua News Agency publishing a commentary saying that “a nightmare scenario has come a step closer for Japanese people and neighboring nations.”
The bills’ passage would “tarnish the reputation of a nation that has earned international respect for its pacifist Constitution over a period of nearly seven decades,” the commentary said, citing opposition to the legislation in Japan. “For countries that fell victim to Japan’s aggression, the chills sent by the bills are even more acute.”
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. David Tweed, Bloomberg/AP
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