Defense spending

In preparation for Trump’s ‘America First’ Doctrine, Japan unleashes $243bn defense spending plan

Japan is set to abandon its pacifist past and begin a long and dangerous road to militarization and potential confrontation with its neighbors, according to recently published defense spending documents.

Following the end of World War II, the United States military occupied Japan and imposed on the country a unique constitution which on the face of it, renounced war for good. Article 9 of the Constitution disallows Japan from maintaining a military force and outlaws the use of force in settling international disputes.

Much in the same way that Japan is party to an international convention which disallows whaling all the while it stillcontinues to take part in the globally banned activity (and will now reportedly be rapidly accelerating its whaling activities), Japan has never really adhered to the principles of its so-called Peace Constitution.

For example, Japan is one of the world’s largest spenders on national defense with one of the world’s best-equippedmilitaries, known as the Self Defence Forces (SDF), which are intended to empower the force to defend Japan in the instance of an attack. The nation also plays host to the US military and its bases, empowering the United States to attack many defenseless nations. In fact, the population of Okinawa, burdened with the task of hosting these military bases (despite vehement and endless amounts of protesting) reportedly feels guilty for their land’s complicity in the US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan as Okinawa has played an integral role through the deployment of troops and naval craft.