Despite the nation's pacifist constitution, Japan's Parliament on Monday enacted seven war contingency bills defining response to foreign attack or the threat of attack.

The bills supplement the country's first three contingency laws, passed last June, and underline the shift in Japanese military strategy from defensive to offensive.

The seven new bills provide Japan with legislative grounds for war preparation and further strengthen its already-formidable military muscle.

The new legislation enables the government to commandeer private property and swiftly evacuate civilians in an emergency, and boosts cooperation with US forces.

The package particularly spells out the right of the maritime Self-Defense Force (SDF) to inspect foreign ships suspected of carrying military cargo in and around Japan's territorial waters.

The legislation also empowers the SDF to provide ammunition to the US military if Japan comes under foreign attack or such a threat is deemed imminent.

Expanding on readiness measures enacted last year, the new bills further heighten the commanding power of the government as well as the prime minister in the situation of emergent threats and arm Japan with the option of initiating preemptive strikes.

War contingency legislation has long been perceived as symbolic of the shift in Japan's security strategy since the start of the Cold War.

The Defense Agency proposed such bills in 1963. They were strongly opposed by the opposition parties, who blasted such legislation as promoting preparation for war.

Under Article 9 of Japan's pacifist constitution, Japan "renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force" as means of settling international disputes.

The article also denies the state the right of belligerency.

Therefore, the legislation to prepare for war runs counter to the spirit of Japan's constitution -- which prohibits the nation from exercising the right to collective defense -- by increasing the possibility of Japan getting embroiled in a war or other armed conflicts.

The Japanese government, however, has managed to have bills passed to realize greater maneuver ability of the SDF. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he will push for a constitution revision to recognize the SDF as an army.

To assume a higher international profile, Japan has been expanding its military role overseas since the end of the Cold War via new legislation to match its status as the world's second largest economic power.

The September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States offered Japan a rare opportunity to accelerate its stride towards this objective under the banner of fighting terrorism.

With nationalism rising in Japan, it is not surprising that some Japanese have called for the armed forces to play a more active role in the nation's foreign policy.

Given Japan's lack of soul-searching over its history of aggression, coupled with its following in the footsteps of Washington's preemptive strategy, the enactment of these bills will cause apprehension and distrust rather than understanding among its Asian neighbors.

To ensure peace for itself and the region, Japan should seek, with other Asian nations, to work towards a form of collective security that embraces pacifist values.

(China Daily June 17, 2004)