This recent article from Yahoo News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051028/ap_on_re_as/japan_constitution;_ylt=AqE4_GyciFdaFyr_fmcEfvsBxg) 8F;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--):

TOKYO - The ruling party on Friday approved its final draft of a proposed revision of Japan's pacifist constitution that would drop a clause outlawing war and give the military a greater role in international security, officials said.

Article 9 of Japan's current constitution — drafted by U.S. occupation forces and unchanged since 1947 — bars the use of military force in settling international disputes.

It also prohibits maintaining a military for warfare, though the Japanese government has interpreted that to mean the nation can have armed troops to protect itself, allowing the existence of its 240,000-strong Self-Defense Forces.

The Liberal Democratic Party's final draft cuts the "no war" clause from Article 9, and outlines an expanded role for the military.

In the approved draft, released on the party's Web site, the section currently titled "Renouncing War" will be renamed "National Security."

The change is part of a general push by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's government to give Japan a larger military and diplomatic profile in the world. Koizumi's party has also long campaigned for replacing the U.S.-drafted constitution with Japan's own.

On Friday, Koizumi said he hoped the draft would draw public attention and promote debate on a Constitutional revision.

"The constitution is an important issue, and we need to get support and understanding from other parties and the public," Koizumi told a group of reporters. "We'll never wage a war, but we should clearly state a possession of troops for self-defense so they're not misunderstood as unconstitutional."

Ruling lawmakers will present the final draft to an LDP general assembly in late November, then plan to discuss it further with the party's coalition partner New Komei Party and opposition leaders, an LDP official said on condition of anonymity citing party rules.

The draft approved Friday says, "In addition to activities needed for self-defense ... the defense forces can take part in efforts to maintain international peace and security under international cooperation, as well as to keep fundamental public order in our country."

The draft also calls for the establishment of a military court.

In addition, it proposes to weaken the division between religion and state, a change that could give the prime minister greater freedom to visit a war shrine — a practice that has enraged China and other Asian countries that suffered under Japan's wartime occupation. Critics say the shrine visits glorify militarism.

The draft says the state may engage in religious activity "in cases within the boundary of social customs." The present charter totally bans the state from religious activity.

The draft leaves intact the status of the emperor as "the symbol of the state" who has no political power.

In an effort to calm worries about a resurgence of Japanese militarism, the draft said Japan remains a pacifist nation and renounces the use of military force to settle international disputes.

It also limits overseas troop deployment to activities involving international cooperation for global peace and safety.

"The draft completely overturned the pacifist principle of the current constitution," said opposition Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima, calling it a "serious challenge to postwar democracy and totally unacceptable."

But Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, a member of the party's constitution revision committee, praised the outcome.

"Well done ... but there is a room for improvement," he said. "We should produce (a constitution) that passes along Japan's history, culture, tradition and pride to our descendants."

Public support for amending the constitution's pacifist clause has grown as Japan tries to raise its international standing.

Opinion polls indicate that a majority of Japanese want the constitution changed to more clearly define the military's role and its right to aid allies — but also that most Japanese want to keep the pacifist clause.

Looks like somebody just realised the Cold War is over. Or maybe they want to hedge their bets against a US Waterloo in the future. That's certainly what the EU has been doing for the past decade or so.

Well, Koizumi has been skating on the very fine edge of violating the constitution for years now... especially with him being one of those involved closely with the bush administration' recent initiatives. Sending troops to iraq was highly controversial.

With the way the world has been going it probably makes sense, though I hope they at least try and keep to a pacifist principle... be nice to think someone was.

Koizumi seems to me to be another of these Bush/Blair/Berlusconi style "personality leaders" who seems to be able to get away with doing a lot of stuff that the population isn't keen on simply due to the fact that he seems like a nice, regular chap.
Though as we've seen recently with Bush and Blair eventually enough of the fallout sticks to start outweighing their charm.

The problem seems not to be the fact that Japan is building military muscle, but that they use the muscle they have to support the wrong initiatives.

Every one of the countries and regions currently under the US defensive umbrella are going to have to rethink their foreign policies in light of the fact that the end of US hegemony within the foreseeable future is now a possibility.

The countries and regions formerly protected by the US will have to prepare for the contingency that the US will cease to be able or willing to protect them (or *shudders* the contingency that they'll need to be able to protect themselves from the US). Armament is an inescapable consequence of this change in the geopolitical landscape.

The really big issue, in the event of a US meltdown, is how many of the countries and regions currently under the US defensive umbrella are going to collapse along with the US hegemony due to either failure to arm sufficiently or failure to detatch themselves from US foreign policy before the US rides it down in flames.

Britan and Japan have so far placed all their eggs in the US basket. Germany and France have yet to start their military buildup. Hopefully the EU will be a credible factor in the geopolitical equation before the US ceases to provide our security.