Article 9 Of Japan's Constitution

Japan was forced to adopt a Constitution written by the Allied powers led by General Douglas MacArthur, after Japan’s defeat in World War II. Certain parts of the Meiji Constitution of 1893, combined with Western philosophies, were used to create Japan’s Constitution. Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution specifically states Japan’s renunciation of war. According to Japan’s Constitution, “… the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.” In addition, “…land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained.” Despite the guidelines written in Japan’s Constitution, Article 9 has differed in interpretation since its enactment.
Article 9's creation and continued existence allowed
Japan to thrive economically. Japan’s nearly non-existent military expenditure allowed growth economically. Only 1% of Japan’s GDP went towards military spending during the cold war years. However, Japan resumed arms productions after United States occupation ended. Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida spearheaded Japan’s national economic development strategy, in the form of the Yoshida Doctrine. His policy emphasized economic progress and technological advances, giving Japan significant competitive advantages. The Ministry of international Trade and Industry was created in 1949 to promote economic expansion. Japan’s military actions would be reliant on its alliance with the United States, thus sparing more money for increased investment of Japanese firms.
The social and political engineering the United States intended for Japan was waning by as early as 1947.
United States and Japanese reformers harmonic relationship had turned into antagonism. The United States were more interested in improving Japan’s economic strength rather than achieving retribution and achieving reforms. In Japan’s point of view, there were many geopolitical events that were happening that had many questioning Article 9’s practicality. The potential threats of the Soviet Union, communist revolution in China, and unstableness in the Middle East were cause for concern. The most pressing issue at the time was the Korean War. During the Korean War, the United States relocated most of its forces to Korea. This left Japan defenseless, causing distrust in regards to their military alliance. Japanese people began to question United States’ commitment to the security of Japan. This led to the creation of the National Police Reserve in 1952. Japan’s loophole around Article 9 was that the Self Defense Force is part of Japan’s police force. Therefore, Japan did not officially have a military force defending or maintaining “land, sea, and air
forces.”
The Self Defense Force is divided into three branches: army, navy, and army force. It was initially under the director-general of the JDA, but its now under the control of a cabinet-level minister. The main mission of the SDF is local defense. 90% of the equipment used to arm the SDF is produced by Japanese industry. Up until the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States had more than 50,000 military personnel in Japan. Japan signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 1976. However, United States military forces store nuclear weapons on Japanese territory. In late 1984, it was suggested that Japan should contribute to multinational peacekeeping efforts. Although Japan had been financially supporting peacekeeping operations, expectations were made for Japan’s role in the UN to include military support, despite objections from Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.