Prime Minister Abe Shinzo paid an official visit to Iran from June 12 to 14, embracing a request from US President Donald Trump to play an intermediary role between the two hostile nations, but returned home without success. It is President Trump, as a rule, who persuades the Iranian officials. Important points for the United States to begin are to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), stops threatening with military strength and lifts sanction measures against the Middle East country.

PEACE DIPLOMACY DOES PROTECT PEOPLE AND NATIONAL INTERESTS OF JAPAN

US ready for military interference

Iran began its nuclear development program in 2000s and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approved a sanction resolution against the country in 2006. It stopped its uranium enrichment plan in 2013. The five UNSC standing members and Germany reached an agreement on suspension of the Iran’s nuclear program, which has led to normalizing diplomatic relations among the parties.

President Trump, however, decided suddenly to unilaterally withdraw from the international accord in 2018, referring to the alleged Iran’s missile development program, and resumed to a sanction regime, blocking Iran’s oil industry, in particular. Adding to the ongoing economic sanction measures, the United States deployed in the Persian Gulf region on last May 11 a special force, including a strike group of the aircraft carrier and B52 strategic bombers and increased the number of Patriot missile personnel.

The US government explains that the initiative is to cope with ‘potential offensive of Iran against the US military and national interests’. President Trump used to describe ‘a possibility of military strike’, though he refers, on the other hand, to dialogues.

US pre-emptive strike

Triggered by the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001 on the US mainland, the nation waged a pre-emptive strike over Iraq in March, 2003. As a major reason for the air-raids the US authorities mentioned that Iraq had had weapons of mass destruction (WMD), but that was a lie, fabricated information. It was to justify a war. No WMD were found.

The United States, which had begun a war in Iraq, demanded the Japanese government to owe financial responsibilities, which were awfully big, and to send ground forces of Japan to be incorporated to the multinational troops. The former urged the latter to follow an idea of ‘boots on the ground’. For this reason the Japanese government made the parliament pass the special law on Iraq, under which the Self Defense Forces (SDF) of Japan air-transported troops, weapons and ammunitions. The SDF contributed to the war in the logistic terms. Japan indeed joined the US war in Iraq. Under these circumstances the nation has been completely integrated into the US war machine.

If President Trump, who raises a flag of America First, should stage a war against Iran on the ground to save the US national interests, Japan should automatically be enforced to put in another US war.

Situation totally different since 2015 War Legislation

In September 2015 the coalition government of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito forced to pass the so-called war legislation, which the ruling bloc calls Laws on National Security. By the series of laws the SDF are allowed to exercise the right of collective self-defense. Through partial revision of the SDF Acts, which the government calls a peace and security framework, the Japanese troopers are authorized to use weapons and defend US ships outside the Japanese territories.

In 2017 the SDF reported that they had fulfilled two missions to defend US ships and aircraft, and in 2018 the figure surged to 16, eight times more than that of the previous year.

In the end of last year the Abe government compiled the new defense guidelines and the mid-term defense program in which possession of aircraft carriers and deployment of US weapons of F35A stealth fighter jets were authorized. Thus the SDF are armed with more offensive weapon systems.

On June 13 two oil tankers, including one operated by a Japanese company, were attacked in the Bay of Oman. Military tension is rising.

The Abe government should not obediently track diplomacy of the Trump administration. Instead, the Japanese authority should commit in peace diplomacy, relying on the Constitution’s Preamble and Article Nine. This is the vital way to protect people and national interests of Japan.

June 25, 2019