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tinuing Soviet military buildup in
the Far East. The J apanese public
has taken these developments
seriously. They are very conscious
of their strategic implications.
The growing vulnerability of
J apan's oil import route from the
Middle East is particularly dis–
turbing . Consider the growing
strength of the Soviet navy in the
l nd ian Ocean, and the Soviet
access to naval and air facilities at
Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. 8oth
pose a serious new threat to the air
and sea lanes to Japan. Many Japa–
nese feel it is time to take steps
toward asserting their right to
maintain thei r economic lifeline.
Also of concern is the building
of Soviet ai r bases on three of the
Kurile islands just north of J apan.
These islands have been held by
the Soviet Union since the end of
World War
11,
but are claimed by
J apan. In addition, sorne 7S Soviet
submarines and 70 majar surface
vessels are now based in the area of
the nearby Sea of Okhotsk. This is
much too clase to home for the
Japanese to ignore.
Finally, the continuing volati le
situation in the Korean península
adds to Japan's strategic con–
ceros.
Polls taken after the Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan show a
definite increased concern for
national secur ity among the Japa–
nese public. Pollsters also reporta
growing support for a stepped-up
defense capabi lity. Public opinion
is clearly changing.
The pacifism spawned by the
tragic experience of World War
11
is beginning to yield to the
realities of modern geopolitics.
Self-Defense Forces
Article IX of Japan's postwar
const itution-drawn up by the
American occupation forces after
the war- declares that "the Japa–
nese people forever renounce war
as a sovereign right of the nation
and the threat or use of force as a
means of settling international
disputes."
lt
also states that "Ja–
pan will never maintain land, sea
and ai r forces, as well as other
potential forces of war."
This ban, as interpreted, has
not prevented J apan's taking
18
steps to insure its self-defense.
Japan today maintains a 260,000-
man "Self-Defense Force"
(SDF)- about 180,000 soldiers,
40,000 sailors and 40,000 air
fo r ce men. In fact, J apan's
defense budget- which totaled
$8.S billion for fiscal 1980-is
the
eighth largest
in the wo.rld,
after the Soviet Union, United
States, China, West Germany,
France, Great Britain and Saudi
Arabia!
Proportionately, however, J a–
pan's defense budget is one of the
smallest in the world, repre–
senting less than 1 percent of the
nation's gross national product
(GNP). This compares to about 6
percent in the United States,
nearly 14 percent in the Soviet
Union, S percent in Britain, 3.S
percént in West Germany and 3.3
percent in France. Japan would
have to more than triple its Jevel
of defense spending to bring
it
into line with the NATO powers
of Western Europe.
Japan' s bare-bones Self-De–
fense Force is a far cry from
J apan's formidable Imperial
Army of S million men at the
outset of World War
11.
Accord–
ing to a recent report by a majar
Japanese government defense
study group, J apan could not ade–
quately defend itself at this time
against even a small-scale conven–
tional (nonnuclear) attack!
It
has been estimated that
J apan's small air force could hold
out less than four hours were it to
face a Soviet attack.
" J apan's defense system," ex–
plained Prime Minister Zenko
Suzuki las t September, "is a two–
pronged policy of meeting small–
scale limited agg ression with
J apan's own defense capabi lity
and relying upon the deterrent
strength of the United States
under Japan-U .S. security ar–
rangements to meet situations
beyond our capabilities."
Many Japanese are coming to
realize that this plan- even if fea–
sible- has not yet been adequate–
ly implemented.
U.S. Commitment Doubted
J apan has for four years been
under steadily increasing pressure
from Washington to shoulder
more of the burden for its own
defense. With the election of
Ronald Reagan as U .S. Presi–
dent, sorne Japanese foreign min–
istry officials are expecting even
greater American pr essure on
Japan to spend more on defense.
Over the years, however, J apan
has largely resisted this pressure
to flex its military muscles. But
now the force of events is suc–
ceeding where U.S. urgings have
failed.
As the J apanese watched the
Soviets invade Afghanistan and
support the Vietnamese invasion
of Cambodia- with Washington
standi ng idly by-their confi–
dence in Amer ica's ability to
defend them sagged considerably.
Doubts about America's commit–
ment to their defense continue to
grow. "Would Washington reaJly
risk Chicago for Osaka?" the
Japanese ask. They are beginning
to real ize, as the Bible long ago
predicted (Leviticus 26: 19), that
the pride of America's power has
indeed been broken! (Request
The United States and Brítain in
Prophecy
for the su r prising
details of the English-speaking
world in Bible prophecy.)
Moreover, the Japanese per–
ceive a shift in U.S. defense pri–
orities to the Middle East and
Europe. J apanese Foreign Minis–
ter Masayoshi Ito said last Octo–
ber that J apan would have to
increase its military capability to
compensate for the departure of
American forces from the West–
ern Pacific to the Indian Ocean
and Arabian Sea. Many of the
ships are from the U .S. Seventh
Fleet based in Japan.
The J apanese realize they are
going to have to take up sorne of
the slack created by the d ilut ion
of the American military pres–
ence in the Western Pacific. But
their strategic thinking has gane
beyond that point. Sorne are now
asking whether Japan should
remain dependent on the United
States at all !
Budget Hlke
J apanese concern over the uncer–
tainty of the American commit-
(Continued on page 30)
The
PLAIN TRUTH