Above photo: Deployment of a missile unit on Yonaguni island – which is just 110km from Taiwan – would strengthen defences in the region in case of a regional conflict. South China Morning Post.
The current proxy war in Ukraine started at least as early as 2014. In the eight years prior to the Russian invasion in 2022, 14,000 Eastern Ukrainians were killed by the shelling of the Kiev regime, which has been conveniently forgotten in the Western media.
Along with Ukraine, preparations were steadily advancing in East Asia at that time leading to the current tensions.
As you know, Mr. K. J. Noh has been emphasizing that ‘China is the main dish’. Indeed, the appetizer—Ukraine—is almost devoured, as our president and the War Department have decided to outsource Ukraine-related issues to NATO member states. The 200-year-old Monroe Doctrine has recently been in the spotlight, and its scope has been expanded beyond Latin America to the Asia-Pacific region. I understand that Venezuela is a hot potato right now, but today, I would like to focus on China, the main dish, from the perspective of Japan.
I just came back from the annual VFP Peace Speaking Tour in Okinawa and mainland Japan. During the 3-week tour, we witnessed the unimaginable scale of their remilitarization.
Before I start talking about Japan, here is my basic understanding of the geopolitical strategy of the United States. You may or may not agree with what I am going to say. But please bear with me:
For the United States, which aspires to be the world’s sole hegemonic power, there are three major obstacles that refuse to acquiésce: Russia, Iran, and China.
Historically, the U.S. has kept the nations surrounding those big three as politically and economically unstable as possible under the guise of being an ally. For that purpose, unfortunately, Japan is one of the most successful targets of this strategy. I hope you understand why I started with the Ukrainian issue.
Now, I would like to explain the history of Japan’s remilitarization and the significance of the never ending Korean War as a key component in maintaining tension and instability in East Asia.
Despite Article 9 of its pacifist constitution, renouncing war forever, Japan was pressured to form the National Police Reserve in 1950. It was only 5 years after the end of WWII that the “National Police Reserve” was formed as a kind of paramilitary force. This was not Japan’s decision but the result of pressure by the American-led occupation regime which wanted to transfer U.S.forces from Japan to the American-instigated war in Korea.
Gradually, the “National Police Reserve” was expanded and finally in 1954 the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) were established, followed in 1955 by the start of the American War in Vietnam.
Thanks to Article 9, Japan had a constitutional reason for refusing to send its SDF soldiers to either Korea or Vietnam. However, many of its civilian airports and seaports reverted to military bases against the will of local residents and have been serving as logistics bases for the U.S. since 1950. As long as the American war in Korea continues, the U.S. uses this as an excuse to maintain what amounts to an occupation force in mainland Japan and Okinawa. This is one reason why the U.S. military budget is so large every year.
Fast forwarding to 2014 and 2015, when two Minsk Agreements failed to stop Kiev’s shelling of the Donbas region, Japan was going through major changes:
A new, bizarre interpretation of Article 9 has significantly eroded its fundamental pacifist core. The SDF’s defense-only policy has been pushed to the brink.
Now, The Japanese government claims the country has collective defense obligations without amending the Constitution. In other words, Japan may be compelled to send its military forces to nations designated as enemies by the United States, even if those nations have not harmed Japan.
It was only natural and necessary that nationwide protests broke out against this new interpretation of Article 9. However, this life-changing decision had been made without sufficient discussion in the National Diet by unilateral Cabinet.
Some of you may still be confused and believe that Japan should be able to act as a sovereign, independent, democrátic nation, despite pressure from the U.S. I must now explain a grotesque characteristic of Japan’s dual political structure.
In the postwar period, Japan has come under U.S. control, bound by the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty of 1952, even after becoming a sovereign nation. Japan continues to maintain a dual political structure under the guise of a normal election system and the National Diet. In this structure, the US-Japan Joint Committee has power over the Diet. This committee holds regular, closed-door meetings in which U.S. military representatives and Japanese government agencies—particularly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense—receive instructions from the U.S. and incorporate them into national policy. This makes the National Diet a “Kabuki Theater.”
Now, I will explain how the U.S. military strategy has been integrated into Japan’s defense strategy.
First, let’s make a statistical comparison between Japan and California, as both have similar surface areas.
California has 32 military bases, while Japan has 120 U.S. military installations. Additionally, according to each division’s website, Japan has 237 SDF bases and garrisons. Some of these facilities are shared. Still, try to imagine how Californians would react if their state had more than 350 military facilities. In Japan’s case, the situation is even worse because these facilities are built on island chains located over four major tectonic plates that are constantly moving and prone to earthquakes. These dangerous conditions are rarely discussed. Moreover, all these facilities would be likely targets in the event of war.
Next, what could be Japan’s role in U.S. military strategy?
After traveling through Japan again this year, I feel strongly that it is at risk of being used as a sacrificial pawn in a U.S.–China proxy war, much as Ukraine is in the U.S.–Russia proxy conflict. I feel this way because Operation Mockingbird functions exceptionally well in Japan’s unique linguistic space, where all overseas information aligns perfectly with US/NATO propaganda. This shapes a single political narrative that views China, Russia, and North Korea as enemies and creates an extremely frustrating “echo chamber” in which the political right and left have an identical understanding of geopolitics.
Consequently, many people fear that both China and Russia could invade Japan at any moment. Even those who feel that war is impossible ignore militarisation in their own living spaces. This is because the media avoids showing concrete details. They stoke public fear in order to justify the military budget increase. SDF conducts war exercises of every conceivable kind right in front of China, including joint drills with the U.S., South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and even NATO forces. Yet most of the media barely touches on this. However, when China reacts, the media reports it as if it were a sudden, unprovoked act of aggression. In this way, the United States continues to use Japan as a shield against China, Russia, and North Korea while also maintaining the Japanese people’s belief that the United States is “protecting” them. The majority of the Japanese population do not know how many military facilities are concentrated on their small Island chains. Japan is undoubtedly the poster child of Operation Mockingbird.
That said, some mainlanders are gradually developing feelings similar to those held by Okinawans for eight decades.
In order to explain why, I must refer to a new strategy that was introduced by the government of Japan, called “Specified Use of Airports and Seaports.”
As the U.S. military’s focus has shifted from Ukraine to China, our government must have ordered Japan to prepare its infrastructure to meet the military needs. The ‘Specified Use of Airports and Seaports’ initiative launched in these circumstances, has become a means for the central government to exert pressure on local areas to implement U.S.-guided strategy effectively.
While ostensibly prioritising civilian use, its true purpose is military.
Initially, it was claimed that allowing large cruise ships to dock would greatly benefit the local economy and that expanded runways could accommodate jumbo jets. However, the reality is that, once the expansions have been completed, more than a dozen Coast Guard ships are constantly docked and fighter jets and other military aircraft conduct nonstop takeoff and landing drills.
This means that, even when a port is designated as civilian, it also becomes a target in times of crisis.
The budget for the MLIT（Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) has been used for military purposes. As a result, communities that currently host SDF and U.S. military bases in Kyushu, Okinawa, and its outlying islands must sacrifice the safety and security of their residents. Evacuation plans that require the abandonment of farmland and livestock are being implemented under the pretext of ensuring their safety. To make matters worse, ammunition depots are being built as close as 220 yards from homes.
Bases and garrisons are also being forcibly constructed in ‘nature reserves’ that were once prized for their rich natural environments and the flora and fauna inhabiting them. The routine operation of such military facilities and the presence of civilian facilities used by the military are highly likely to cause further environmental destruction in the future, similar to that currently occurring on Okinawa Island. This would directly impact the core tourism industry.
“Specified Use of airports and seaports” may be expanded in the future, but it is unlikely that they will be reduced under the current administration.
Additionally, plans are underway to build 130 new ammunition depots nationwide, possibly anywhere in Japan.
Incidentally, the planned locations of some of those depots as set out in this year’s budget proposal, are directly linked to the designated ports. In other words, if an area becomes a Specified Use Port, an ammunition depot will be built next to it.
