Japan, once a great power, now under US domination

TOKYO: Any first-timer in Japan is baffled by the humility, kindness and pacific attitude of a nation that was once known for its military adventurism and aggression against the neighbors.

Included among its past victims are two great military powers, China and Russia. South Korea and Taiwan had been its colonies. Thailand, Philippine, Mayanmar, Indonesia, Hong Kong and many other countries remained under its occupation. Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 resulted in active involvement of US into World War II. The US later returned by a surprise attack through dropping atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

How this militaristic country radically transformed into one of the leading preacher and practitioner of the peace in the world? Post-war Constitution is the answer.

Japan is the only country in the world having pacifism pronounced and war renounced in the Constitution.Its preamble spells out Japan’s desire to practice peace and article 9 has renounced war in an unequivocal terms. Other than Constitution, education system was reformed and militaristic past was erased from the public memory through toning down the adventurism in text books.

New generation is preached peace through regular visits of Hiroshima where Peace Museum offers them lesson about the bitter realities of war that razed the city to rubble and claimed the lives of 15000 citizens, children included, through atom bomb.

Interestingly, this transformation towards peace occurred under US-led occupation as Japan had surrendered after two atom bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagaskai causing the worst of human tragedies.

Japanese Constitution was crafted within a week by Americans led by Gen Douglas MacArthur, commander of occupation forces. The constitution rendered Emperor powerless bringing an end to Imperial Japan that was involved in war adventures.

In addition, war was renounced and resolve to not raise any military force in future was pronounced.Article 9 of the Constitution reads, “Japanese people forever renounce war as a threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. “and, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential will never be maintained, it notes. The right of belligerency, article 9 goes on, of the state will not be recognised.

Theodore McNelly, then a 26-year-old intelligence officer working for Gen MacArthur at his office in Tokyo, was among those drafted article 9, a fact he admitted later on in an interview. He and others involved in drafting was told to prepare “a kind of a model to guide the Japanese.” Writing of the draft, McNelly said, was such a rush. “We had more materials than we had time to study them,” he said. “When you had to do this in a week, there wasn’t time to do a great deal of historical research.”

Draft was prepared by Americans and approved by Japanese Parliament, then under the influence of occupation forces, said Yoshiji Nogami, former top diplomat of Japan and currently President of Japan Institute of International Affairs.

While US-tailored Japanese Constitution renounced war, American forces fought many wars afterwards right from war with Korea, Vietnam, twice in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Other than incorporating article 9 for renouncing war, the procedure of constitutional amendment was made difficult making it impossible to change it. Proposed amendments have been introduced several times but failed to pass in absence of requisite majority in both houses of the Parliament.

Current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stirred debate as he said the Constitution needed revision in the changing circumstances as strong defense of Japan was the demand of the time.In addition to renunciation of war through new Constitution, army and political leaders of that time was tried for war crimes and sentenced to death. Education system was reformed and text books altered the course of history by toning down the past. For example, an invasion against a country was mentioned as an ‘advance into’. Japanese army used Korean women as sex slaves. Now they are dubbed as comfort women.

The US after occupation slapped censorship on the media banning publication of atrocities in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by atom bombs.Consequently, Japanese came to know about the scale of devastation many years later on and only after the occupation ended.

There are also conscious efforts at leadership level in Japan to take radical departure from the past. Owing to this reason, the government has issued statements many a time expressing ‘regret’ on the wrong doings committed against the neighboring countries during the course of war. Also, the school children are sent to Hiroshima for a visit to the Peace Memorial in order to realise them about the cost of war and benefits of peace that they enjoy by progressing through technological advancement.