El Squibbonator wrote:I know Japan has been beefing up its military--ahem, its self-defense forces--but I'm pretty sure this is illegal somehow. After all, doesn't Article 9 prohibit Japan from possessing "offensive" weapons, such as heavy bombers, ballistic missiles, and aircraft carriers?
Specifically, they are only allowed to possess the forces with which to defend themselves. They are no longer allowed to project power away from their territorial waters. It's a very sticky situation when it comes to aircraft carriers, which are considered the crown jewel of power for any navy (which ironically, Japan helped shift us all towards), like the battleships of old. The
ships in question, Izumo-class helicopter destroyers do look very much like old style, WWII aircraft carriers, such as the
USS Enterprise (CV-6) or the later
Essex Class Carriers, which were more than capable of projecting air and sea power across the Pacific. However, the Izumo-class looks more like an aircraft carrier than the
LHD Wasp-Class or even their own
Hyuga-Class helicopter destroyer, which is what is concerning those in the far-east and elsewhere.
Although, I can't blame the Japanese for wanting to beef up their defenses considering the amount of advancement the Chinese and North Korean militaries, with China having one Russian built aircraft carrier, with another being built and more on the way, and the North Koreans being all... well crazy or whatever.
The situation with Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Japan jointly also require more domestic muscle in order to keep up with the Jones' on that side of the world.
imprimatur13 wrote:Not sure if that also includes getting rid of the US troops currently stationed there (they are still there, no?)
Yes, we're still there, mainly on
Okinawa, but there are other bases in Japan.
El Squibbonator wrote:We create the Treaty of Versailles prevent another war in Europe, but it ends up disillusioning Germany, allowing Adolf Hitler to seize power. We lend support to the Soviet Union during World War II, but then they become a major military power and our greatest rival of all time. We train the Mujahideen insurgents in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets, but they become Al Qaeda and plunge the world into the War on Terror.
The United States has been keeping Japan on a tight leash for the past 60 years; if that changes and Japan decided it wants to be a military power again things could go south very, very quickly.
Germany has
its military back, perhaps its time Japan was allowed theirs back too? I mean, they were both on the wrong side of WWII. And to be fair, the French pushed the Versailles Treaty more than we did, and the war reparations which financially crippled Germany are what helped Hitler seize power, among other things, like forcing Germany to claim sole responsibility for the war and its damage. The US wanted to foster trade in Europe to rebuld the economy, but no one wanted to work with Germany, so that plan died off. And the USSR was more of a "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" deal, which always has its downsides on the back end when the common enemy is gone.