Japan's Defense Minister Ordered the Navy Friday to Return to the Indian Ocean - New York Times -
(Le ministre de la Défense du Japon Commandé vendredi à la marine Retour à l'océan Indien - New York Times --)
New York Times Online posted the news from Tokyo, telling that Prime Minister Mr. Yasuo Fukuda has successfully fulfilled his critical mission to have a bill to send Maritime-Self-Defense-Forces ships to the Indian Ocean passed in the Japanese Parliament despite strong opposition from the Opposition.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Japan-Anti-Terrorism.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
New York Times did very appropriate coverage, for this issue has been the most argued political agenda since the last summer when the Opposition took control over the Upper House of the Japanese Parliament called Diet.
As the Opposition launched a sort of warped strategy to obstacle the passage for reconfirming the bill that allows Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Forces to partially join the US operation in the area, former Prime Minister Mr. Shinzo Abe got into a painful situation.
The situation also got aggravated by various incidents, such as a conflict between then female Defense Minister Ms. Yuriko Koike and then vice minister Mr. Moriya.
Also, as liberal critics and pundits, leveraging the situation, intensified their attack on Mr. Shinzo Abe, he approached the limits in maintaining his physical, mental, social, and political balance while performing his duty, and eventually resigned so abruptly, which might have however caused more confusions and troubles, domestically and internationally, unless he candidly expressed his limits to his aids and political allies.
So, the issue on dispatching the support fleet to the Indian Ocean became the most critical one for the new Prime Minister, Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, who has to rely on a special article of the Constitution that gives superiority to the Lower House when a bill is rejected in the Upper House as long as the former can pass the bill with more than two-thirds-majority votes.
Article 59.
A bill becomes a law on passage by both Houses, except as otherwise provided by the Constitution.
A bill which is passed by the House of Representatives, and upon which the House of Councillors makes a decision different from that of the House of Representatives, becomes a law when passed a second time by the House of Representatives by a majority of two-thirds or more of the members present...
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Accordingly, the Oppositions, critics and the media in Japan are arguing propriety of politically and strategically resorting to Article 59 of the Japanese Constitution, since such application of the law is first since one single unique case in 1951.
This provision of the Constitution belongs to the paradigm of WWII.
Adolf Hitler got hegemony of Germany through election and a relative majority in Parliament.
Though US officials working under General MacArthur in Tokyo after WWII thought democratic Japan needed only a one-chamber system in the Diet, Japanese politicians held fast with the adoption of the two-chamber system, since the Empire of Japan had a two-chamber system consisting of the House of Representatives and the House of Lords (there was the noble class around the Imperial family in Japan before WWII).
The US officials working under General MacArthur thought so because Japan is a single-race country.
But, the Japanese are not a mass of simple minded people. Japanese society is as complicated as the U.S. Japan needs a two-chamber system.
But, the basic idea, the framework of ideas, or the paradigm that occupied the minds of people involved in developing the new Japanese Constitution after WWII was influenced, of course, by incidents that had led to WWII or more specifically the rise of Hitler.
Conversely, if there is a three-year period until the next election for the Upper House members after the Lower House has been usurped by a kind of Nazis, the Upper House might be able to deter the progress of Nazis toward the unchecked exercise of power unless they have a two-thirds majority in the Lower House which even real Nazis could not achieve though in 1933 Hitler took to himself the legislative power from the national assembly of Germany.
Although it is impossible in Japan that a kind of Hitler would usurp power through election as the Japanese are not a mass of simple minded people, it is far better to have a two-party system no matter how costly it looks, taking into consideration possible disaster a Nazi-type political party would bring about on the people.
The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan is not a Nazi, and the War on Terror is not a WWII-type of wars; yet the constitutional system of Japan must function to prevent any security threat to Japan, such as new Nazis and a new World War.
Then, the issue is whether the current Japan's Constitution is effective or not in the paradigm of this era with new economy (symbolized by former Prime Minister Mr. Jyunichiro Koizumi) and new conservatism (symbolized by former Prime Minister Mr. Shinzo Abe), while the Constitution is essentially based on Christian ideal the U.S. introduced into Japan after WWII with a notion that European Christianity was insufficient.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Party
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As for the War on Terror and Japan's involvement in the War, I am very doubtful if it can be won under the leadership of the U.S.
One of the reasons is that there is no respectable and reasonable definition of the War and the last state of the victory if we win.
In addition, if the U.S. acts out of line or over the edge, Japan has to defend Asians and Muslims from mad violence of the U.S.
(It is already said that the US invasion of Iraq caused directly or indirectly one million death of Iraqi citizens including innocent house wives, children, infants, elders, and hard working honest Muslims.）
To send a signal to both the sides of the US/UK coalition and poor Muslims/Asians, I thought that Japan must call back its Self-Defense-Forces fleet from the Indian Ocean back to its home port in Japan at least once.
And, it was so done with a mercy of High God.
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You have to also remember that this issue of cooperation with the U.S. Navy in the Indian Ocean is linked with Japan's another cooperation with the U.S. in terms of Japan's national security against North Korea, China, and Russia, all of which are armed with nuclear weapons and have no peace treaty, except China who often abuses anti-Japanese emotion among some of its people, with Japan so far as now.
Among them, the poorest and the most tragic nation, North Korea still refuses to release Japanese citizens abducted by their agency and have them return to Japan in safety.
Until 100 or so Japanese abductees, namely victims of the cold war in the Korean Peninsula, come back to Japan, the Japanese Government is requested to continue to pressure North Korea into giving up their espionage-centric strategy against Japan.
Especially, as former Prime Minister Mr. Shinzo Abe had gained in big popularity through his stance on this North Korea-related issue, the simple logistical support for US and Pakistan Navies weighed so much on him and the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan.
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So, the key words are (1) Japanese abductees by North Korea; (2) the example of Nazi's rise to power before WWII; (3) the Japanese basically Christian Constitution drafted under General MacArthur's control after WWII; (4) the poorly defined US War on Terror; and (5) Japan's mission to protect poor Asians and Muslims.
Indeed, the global politics is like riding on a bicycle, as President Mr. George Bush reportedly once or twice fell to the ground when pedaling along in his Texas ranch.
Truly, anybody can continue to run on a bicycle easily; but safely halting on a bicycle standing still for one or two minutes is very difficult, even if it is just for the purpose of sending a warning signal to your friend pedaling under the heavy escort against any attempts to make him fall.
(It rains today here, this Saturday afternoon, though not snowing like a few years ago.
Tomorrow it may be fine, though I may watch TV more, since I am still busy till midnight these days, not only for the new version of the Go game.
By the way, there is no reference to frogs in the Bible. Do you know the reason?)
"The Woman and the Dragon"
(Die Frau und der Drache)