Home / International / News Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read | Comment
Aso rules out possibility of collective self-defense
Adjust font size:

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of enabling Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defense, Kyodo News reported.

The move, which reversed his previous opinions, came after General Toshio Tamogami, the Air Self-Defense Force chief of staff, was sacked Friday over his controversial essay, which asserted that Japan should be allowed to exercise the right to collective self-defense and possess "offensive weaponry," and denied Japan's aggression against other Asian countries during World War II.

At a press conference held on Tuesday, Defense Minster Yasukazu Hamada said that he was instructed by the prime minister to tighten control over public expressions of political opinions by Self-Defense Forces (SDF) officers and punish relevant personnel in the defense ministry and the SDF.

In an essay released Friday, Tamogami said that it is "false" to accuse Japan of having been an aggressor nation before and during World War II.

Japan had been drawn into the Sino-Japanese War by then Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek, who headed the Chinese Nationalist Party, said the general, referring to Japan as "a victim" in the essay entitled "Was Japan an Aggressor Nation?"

Japan "is said to have invaded" the Chinese mainland and the Korean Peninsula in the prewar period, wrote Tamogami, adding that few people, however, are aware that the Japanese army "was stationed in these countries on the basis of treaties."

Aso voiced his disapproval of the essay later Friday. Criticizing Tamogami for his viewpoints, Aso said that it is "not appropriate" for an ASDF chief to publish such an essay, even though "in a private capacity."

After taking office in September, Aso advocated changing the government's interpretation of the pacifist Constitution to allow its forces to exercise the right to collective self-defense, saying "...basically the interpretation (of the Constitution) should be changed" and "the matter of the right to collective self-defense is important."

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2008)

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Comment
Pet Name
Anonymous
China Archives
Related >>
- Japan's Air Self-Defense Force hold parade
- Japan, Australia Sign Landmark Defense Pact
- Japan to Create Ministry of Defense
- Defense Agency Upgrading Marks Big Step in Japan's Military Power Bid
- Japan to Spend US$1 Bln on Missile Defense System
- US, Japan Sign Joint Missile Defense Deal
- Wen says willing to exchange views with Aso
- Taro Aso elected Japan's PM
- Aso picks chums, hawkish Cabinet
Most Viewed >>
- China denies helping Indian rebels
- Miliband clears up Britain's Tibet policy
- Former HK Governor Patten backs Obama
- Survey shows number of undecided US voters dwindles
- Wen's visits to Russia, Kazakhstan 'fruitful'
> Korean Nuclear Talks
> Reconstruction of Iraq
> Middle East Peace Process
> Iran Nuclear Issue
> 6th SCO Summit Meeting
Links
- China Development Gateway
- Foreign Ministry
- Network of East Asian Think-Tanks
- China-EU Association
- China-Africa Business Council
- China Foreign Affairs University
- University of International Relations
- Institute of World Economics & Politics
- Institute of Russian, East European & Central Asian Studies
- Institute of West Asian & African Studies
- Institute of Latin American Studies
- Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies
- Institute of Japanese Studies