Should Japan change its pacifist constitution and have an army?

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe thinks it’s time to revise his country’s pacifist constitution

Today's expression: Take effect
Explore more: Lesson #96
October 22, 2018:

Shinzō Abe, Japan's prime minister, is considering major revisions to the country's constitution"”specifically Article 9, which prevents the world's fifth-largest democracy from having any armed forces at all. With constitutional reform, Japan would be able to play a greater role on the world stage. But is that the highest priority for an aging nation? Plus, learn the phrasal verb "take effect."

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Should Japan have an army? Its own constitution currently says it cannot

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe thinks it’s time to revise his country’s pacifist constitution, which prevents the world’s fifth-largest democracy from having any armed forces at all.

Hi all, welcome back, you are listening to Plain English, the best podcast for learning English through current events. I’m Jeff in Chicago, JR is the producer in Mexico. [email protected] ; [email protected] if you want to get in touch, or check us out on Facebook and Twitter under the user name PlainEnglishPod.

Today’s episode is number 96, so you can find the transcript at PlainEnglish.com/96 and remember we have translations into Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, all for your reading convenience.


Should Japan have an army?

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was re-elected to a third term as the leader of Liberal Democratic Party. Since the LDP has a comfortable majority in Japan’s parliament, known as the Diet, Abe will be the country’s longest-serving prime minister in the post-war era.

Abe is known globally for his economic strategy, which is often credited with making Japan more economically competitive. But his attention in his final term in office is now turning to foreign and security policy. And there is one big obstacle to Japan’s development as a player on the world stage, and that is its own constitution.

Article 9 of Japan’s constitution, which was adopted in 1947, says that the country forever renounces war and the use of force to settle international disputes. The article also says that Japan may not maintain land, sea, or air forces. In other words, no army, no navy, no air force. The constitution took effect at the end of World War II. After Japan was defeated in World War II, the United States insisted on assurances that Japan would not become a military power again. The history is complicated, but it was actually Americans who drafted the text of the current Japanese constitution—some would say the victorious Americans imposed the current constitution on the defeated Japanese.

In the 70 years since then, Japan has grown to be the world’s fifth-largest democracy and has shed any colonial or imperialist ambitions it might have had at the beginning of the 20th Century. Its population is ageing and shrinking; it is not a threat, especially since the country’s pacifism has become a large part of its culture.

There are some strong reasons in favor of Japan having armed forces. First, for self-defense: it is an island nation of 127 million people, in a rapidly-changing part of the world, where China is asserting itself on the world stage and North Korea is openly pursuing nuclear weapons. If a conflict erupted in Asia, Japan would have to depend on other countries, principally the United States, for its defense. Supporters of constitutional reform say Japan should be able to maintain armed forces to defend itself in case of conflict.

Another reason for reform is so that Japan can bear its share of the responsibility for peacekeeping around the world. It is restricted in its ability to help allies in trouble in Asia, its own backyard. Though it participates in UN peacekeeping missions, it has to withdraw from any situation that is too dangerous.

Perhaps the best reason to change the constitution is to bring it into alignment with reality. Japan has armed forces. They are called the Self-Defense Forces. Japan maintains the fiction that it does not have an army by calling the self-defense forces an extension of the national police. They number 300,000 and they are equipped like an army. Japan twists itself into a logical and legal pretzel trying to reconcile its self-defense forces with its pacifist constitution. Any extension of the self-defense forces, and any new peacekeeping role around the world, inevitably leads to a constitutional battle at home over Article 9, limiting Japan’s responsiveness and effectiveness on the world stage.

What are the reasons not to change the constitution? There are a couple of points on the other side too. For one, pacifism and lack of international aggression is now part of the Japanese character and many in Japan simply don’t want their country to maintain an army. The most convincing argument, however, is that Japan has bigger problems to deal with right now. Its population is ageing and shrinking. Japan’s population is shrinking by 1,000 people a day and a fifth of the population is 70 or older. In the face of this, the country heavily restricts immigration and the tax code discourages women from working full-time. Why should Japan’s popular prime minister spent his time and political energy on reforming Article 9 when the country’s demographics and economy are more pressing priorities?

Reforming the constitution would require the agreement of other political parties plus the agreement of the Japanese people in a referendum. Neither is guaranteed. Prime Minister Abe has a strong argument for reforming Japan’s constitution, but he also has other urgent challenges with more achievable solutions.


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I want to say a quick hi to Gabriel from Sao Paulo, Brazil. He listens in traffic and repeats the words out loud for practice in the car as he goes to and from work—what a great idea. Thanks for the note Gabriel.

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Expression: Take effect