This summer, as the "80th anniversary of the end of the war" was celebrated, so too was the beginning of talk of the "end of the postwar period." Japan is a rare country where the "postwar period" has been discussed not just as a period after World War II, but as a spiritual turning point. So why is the end of the postwar period beginning to be discussed in Japan? It's because war veterans, primarily veterans who cried out in the deepest voices, "I've had enough of war" and "We'll never do something so stupid again." In other words, those who experienced defeat and embraced a demise and non-war Japan have almost disappeared. As if waiting for the call for non-war to fade from society, the Kishida administration, following the second Abe administration's approval of the right of collective self-defense in 2014, approved the capability to attack enemy bases in the 2022 Cabinet Decision on Three Security-Related Documents, completely nullifying the 1947 Peace Constitution, which pledged demise and non-war. For the belligerent American neoconservatives and Japan Hands who have manipulated successive LDP governments, "the postwar period of opposition to the Japan-US Security Treaty should come to an end."
"Japan is facing the most severe and complex security environment since the end of the war." This phrase is emphasized in the National Security Strategy, the core of three security-related documents. As nuclear-armed nations neighboring Japan, such as China, Russia, and North Korea, rapidly expand their military capabilities, the document continues to raise a sense of crisis, arguing that expanding military capabilities to counter these forces is essential. However, the "most severe and complex security environment" was also a factor during the Cold War, which lasted for over 40 years after the war. The Japanese archipelago, home to the Japan-US Security Treaty and US military bases in Japan, was placed on the front lines of the Cold War as a bulwark against communism, and crises were constantly brewing. After the end of the Cold War in 1989, new crises arose, and the Self-Defense Forces, which complemented the US military, steadily became more heavily armed and deployed overseas.
Scenarios for making the new crisis " the most severe and complex" were being developed within the United States, now the sole superpower. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, a secret Pentagon document, which would become the basis for the 2002 Bush Doctrine (New Strategic Thinking), was compiled in February 1992. It was a defense policy guideline as part of the US National Security Strategy for the post-Cold War era. Neoconservatives, including then-Under Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, came together to draft the document. The guideline not only aimed to prevent the revival of the former Soviet bloc but also to contain potential threats like China and the European Union, with the ultimate goal of US hegemony in Eurasia. At its core, the guideline declared that "in the post-Cold War world, the rise of a rival superpower to the United States will not be tolerated."
However, less than 10 years after the neoconservatives declared that they would not tolerate the rise of a rival superpower, Communist China rose to power . It has now become a superpower with economic and military power that nearly surpasses that of the United States. This rise of China parallels the evolution of post-Cold War Japan-US relations.
Wall Street welcomed the 1978 shift to reform and opening up, based on neoliberalism and the idea of getting rich first, as advocated by Deng Xiaoping. In the early 1980s, they even supported the modernization of the Chinese navy to counter the Soviet Union. Things changed with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. This was evident in the harsh treatment of Japan, which , with the end of the Cold War and the loss of a common enemy, was leaning toward UN-centrism. In the 1990s, the United States maintained a forward deployment of 100,000 troops in Asia, while the Nye Report reaffirmed its commitment to the existing Japan-US alliance, leading to a redefinition of the Japan-US Security Treaty. As the 21st century began, the media began to hype the "rise of China" and "expanding China," leading to sensationalized coverage of China's claims to the South China Sea and the Senkaku Islands. Setting aside the issue of North Korea's nuclear armament, the 1996 Japan-US Joint Declaration on Security , which was described as "the foundation for maintaining a stable and prosperous situation in the Asia-Pacific region as we enter the 21st century," has become a welcome development for China's rise as a superpower. The Chinese threat, which involves Japan as the "leading player," was undoubtedly created by the United States.
Just how deeply Japan's conservative government has fallen prey to the disease of subservience to the United States was made clear in Prime Minister Ishiba's speech at the UN General Assembly on September 23. He said, " The Security Council is still not functioning properly. The best example is Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A permanent member of the Security Council, which is supposed to have special responsibility for international peace and security, is invading a neighboring country and undermining the very foundations of the international order . "
For example, during the Iraq War, the Bush administration launched a preemptive attack without reference to a UN Security Council resolution. Moreover, the pretext for the invasion, claiming that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction, was a lie. However, the Japanese government supported the lawless attack on Iraq without a UN resolution. It was essentially a declaration that "we will submit to whatever America does." In that sense, the postwar period was nothing more than a replacement of the emperor with the United States. Even when Ishiba calls for recognition of the Palestinian state and a two-state solution at the UN as a cover for this, many countries are sure to sneer at him.
The Japanese government has no right to criticize Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, for invading a neighboring country and undermining the foundations of the international order. If we examine in detail the circumstances and background of Russia's invasion of Ukraine under the guise of a special military operation, we cannot place Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the same level as the US invasion of Iraq. Please refer to the following article for a glimpse of the circumstances and background.
1) "Ukrainian neo-Nazis and the Japan Conference are manipulated by the US neo-cons to expand their hegemony by any means necessary." 2) "The US neo-cons started the war to oust Putin. The overthrow of the Duterte regime was thwarted by support from China, Russia and the Philippines." 3) The Brzezinski Plan to overthrow the Putin regime. The Ukraine crisis and the US's domination of Eurasia.
For a discussion of the realities of the Cold War with China and the current state of postwar Japan, please refer to ① The sudden change in the US administration's attitude and Abe's state funeral: "When Japan becomes a country where blood can be shed, it turns from cold treatment to high praise" ② Seeing through the US and British ploy to contain China and manipulate Japan: Modern Japan, Third Period, 1 ③ The LDP presidential candidate who curry favor with the US, saying "We are in the worst situation, surrounded by China, Russia, and North Korea": The end result of "opening the country to expel foreigners"
When considering Japan's postwar history, if we take its origins in adhering to the 1947 Constitution, which proclaims disarmament and the renunciation of war, then the postwar period must be perpetuated. The Self-Defense Forces, a military organization, and the "realistic stance" of exclusively defensive defense were imposed on Japan by American warmongers obsessed with global hegemony, for their own convenience. Less than half a century later, the situation has changed, with the Self-Defense Forces now considered a military force fully incorporated under the command of the U.S. military, and exclusively defensive defense now allowing for preemptive attacks on enemy bases. The Japan-U.S. Security Treaty has resulted in the complete hollowing out of the Peace Constitution. Abolishing the Security Treaty is the key to continuing the postwar ideal of "no more war."
Furthermore, when considering the postwar period, it is necessary to consider the post-World War II period in former colonies such as China and India. The Third World, which advocated non-alignment after the war in opposition to the imperialist oppression of the Western powers, including the United States, Britain, and France, as well as Japan, is now united as the Global South and is striving to surpass the major developed countries in terms of economic power. From their perspective, China's rise is not a threat at all; rather, it can join hands with Russia and India to become a leader in shaping a new world that overcomes imperialist rule. This is why the United States and Britain, or the Anglo-Saxon hegemony , are so desperately pursuing a campaign to demonize China and Russia .
I will stop writing here for now.