Tokyo (AsiaNews) -
After 60 years of institutional pacifism,
the Japanese government yesterday approved a decree that "interprets" (and in fact deletes) Article
9 of the National Constitution. It
basically reduced Japan's armed forces to humanitarian missions and self-defense operations.
The approval of the decree is in fact a victory for the Conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had based his election campaign on the idea: "The
environment surrounding Japan is
becoming increasingly dangerous - the Japanese prime minister told a press conference - and to be prepared
for any eventuality, we need to develop
legislation to ensure security, to protect the lives of our people and ensure peace".
The debate on the
abolition of Article. 9 has
stirred up a mostly negative reaction from Japanese society.
The Catholic Church has repeatedly asked
the government to back off
and not give in to the temptations of
militarism. In a message published in June of 2013, the
Archbishop of Tokyo and President of the
Bishops' Conference had defined the
constitutional pacifism of the Land of the Rising Sun "a
source of pride before all mankind."
But the calls for peace have fallen on
deaf ears. Abe's decision has
also provoked China, the not too
hidden target of
this latest move. The Chinese Foreign Ministry says it is "very concerned" and has urged
Tokyo to "act with prudence in
matters of security."
Japan is embroiled in a dispute with the Asian giant over the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands - which
Beijing calls "Diaoyu" - and China, in turn,
is grappling with several territorial disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines and India. In Korea, a protest was
held yesterday in front of
the Japanese embassy, while in Tokyo
over 10 thousand people marched on government buildings comparing the prime minister to Hitler. Recently a man even set himself on fire
in protest.