Japanese military action, 9/12/12

To align ourselves more completely with our national laws, Japan is currently taking action to return its Self Defense Force personnel to the islands.  Article 9 of the constitution, written in 1947, states:

Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.

In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

As such, effective immediately we are withdrawing Japanese Self-Defense Forces from humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Africa and Asia.  The Self-Defense Forces will remain on our islands as originally intended, as a national extension of local police forces.  The forces will also play crucial roles in ongoing disaster relief efforts following the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Although we are taking steps to comply with our laws by renouncing the use of armed forces to settle international disputes, we retain the right to defend our nation with force if necessary.  Our Self-Defense Forces will remain well-trained and well-equipped, and our long-standing military defense alliance with the United States shall remain intact.

Thank you.

Mr. Satoshi Morimoto