Japan: 75 years after surrender, Shinzo Abe wants to reform the army

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2 min

In Japan 75 years ago to the day, on August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender of his country, brought to its knees by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As the archipelago commemorates the end of the war, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's party has just given the green light to an extremely controversial reform project concerning the army, a bellicose text, according to the opposition.

Publicity

With our correspondent in Tokyo, Bruno Duval

Japan's pacifist constitution forbids him to go to war forever, but Shinzo Abe wants his army to be able to carry out preemptive strikes against enemy targets that would pose an imminent threat to the archipelago. For example, North Korean missile batteries about to go into action.

This project deeply divides opinion. "  I am opposed to this reform," said a Japanese. The rulers' mission is to work for peace, not to prepare for war. A fortiori with regard to Japan, given its militarist past. But Abe is playing hot-tempered like his great friend Trump with Iran. They should both stop throwing oil on the fire like that. "

“  It might be safer to destroy enemy missiles before they've even been launched. Because, once they have been shot, you can never be 100% sure that you will succeed in intercepting them. And then, the population does not have enough time to take shelter,  ”continues a woman.

“  These strikes wouldn't solve anything. They would allow us to avoid the first missiles, yes, but not all those which would then be launched at us in retaliation, adds a man. So, when the day comes, we will have to think twice before making such strikes ... "

Shinzo Abe will have all the more difficulty getting this text voted on as his popularity has collapsed due to his management of the coronavirus epidemic.

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• Japan
• Defense
• Shinzo abe