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China-Japan-Koreas
Japanese PM wants to rewrite war-renouncing constitution clause
2006-11-02
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he wants to rewrite the country’s post-World War II pacifist constitution, including the clause that forever renounces war, in an interview published Wednesday. Abe, 52, is a long-time advocate of revising the constitution. But it is the first time since he became prime minister in September that he has made clear his intention to rewrite the war-renouncing Article 9. “I believe this article needs to be revised from the viewpoint of defending Japan,” Abe said told the London-based Financial Times. “Japanese people should themselves write a constitution that befits the 21st century,” he added.

The US-imposed constitution bars Japan from maintaining a military ever again, although the country skirts the rule by calling its troops “Self-Defense Forces”.
Posted by:Fred

#6  The Japanese are smart enough to know there is no military value to or use for nukes and they are a waste of money.

You should have added "without the will or the need to use them."

It could be said that the USA had the will to use them during the Cold War and that resulted in no one using them on any side. I doubt that could be said today.

Posted by: FOTSGreg   2006-11-02 16:01  

#5  This is exactly the kind of talk that has gotten the Chinese to hammer North Korea recently. It might all be a bluff but this is the nightmare scenerio as far as the PRC is concerned and I hope a few ChiComs are losing sleep right now.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2006-11-02 15:21  

#4  The Japanese are smart enough to know there is no military value to or use for nukes and they are a waste of money. The only reason they would develop them is if Uncle withdrew the umbrella or they no longer wanted to be under it. It is difficult to see why either would happen for the forseeable future. The Japanese will spend their scarce defence yen more wisely than we do, on systems that actually enhance their security.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-11-02 11:59  

#3  It's a real good bet they've been working the designs for some time. They either have the most powerful parallel processing computers or near best(claims change every several months). They have the expertise. They have the materials. They may not have constructed anything yet, but have probably run thousands of simulations. Getting everything correct is key to large yields. I would bet the $20 that when they do test, a really big bang will occur, not just a small fart like Kimmie's dud.
Posted by: SpecOp35   2006-11-02 11:38  

#2  Yes they do, and they are spending the money on those alternatives : Ballistic Missile Defense, and a much larger and better equipped conventional military. ABMs are going into Japan right now, SM3s are in the Japanese Fleet along with Aegis-capable cruisers, and the Japanese are planning on building 1 or 2 X-Band radar installation in the next few years.
Posted by: Shieldwolf   2006-11-02 02:04  

#1  I will bet any of you $20 that Japan has nuclear weapons before the decade is over. Honestly: do they have a choice?
Posted by: Secret Master   2006-11-02 01:36  

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