Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s drop in popularity leading to a weaker position in Japan’s Parliament (Diet) may reverse his successes in:
- sending Japanese military forces overseas on UN duties, and
- sending Japanese military forces overseas on UN duties, and
- weapon sales or coastguard aid (eg. to the Philippines) to foreign countries.
Abe now seems to have a low chance of revising the pacifist constitution(especially Article 9).
Particular matters that may have weakened Abe’s push to have a normal defence force and arms industry are:
- the resignation in late July 2017 of rightwing Defense Minister Inada
- due to the cover-up of internal records that exposed the danger Japanese peacekeepers faced in
South Sudan. Under Japanese political and legal rules the peacekeepers were only allowed in
South Sudan if there was a ceasefire in force. Instead the peacekeepers had been exposed to
combat since at least 2016.
- the resignation in late July 2017 of rightwing Defense Minister Inada
- due to the cover-up of internal records that exposed the danger Japanese peacekeepers faced in
South Sudan. Under Japanese political and legal rules the peacekeepers were only allowed in
South Sudan if there was a ceasefire in force. Instead the peacekeepers had been exposed to
combat since at least 2016.
Might the above events and Inada’s replacement on August 3, 2017 by new Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera slow down Japan’s ability to sell aircraft and submarines to foreign buyers?
Pete