77 Years since World War II, How Can We Prevent a Repeat?

Published in Sanyo Shimbun
(Japan) on 15 August 2022
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Joseph Santiago. Edited by Lisa Attanasio.
Today [Aug. 15] marks the anniversary of the end of World War II. As we mourn the 3.1 million people who were sacrificed in the conflict, it’s time once again to raise the banner for peace. As we welcome this 77th anniversary, Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine.

It has become commonplace to see Ukraine battered by shellings and bombings on our televisions every day, the exact likeness of wartime Japan, reduced to scorched earth by air raids. Through our screens, the pain of having one’s life and freedom senselessly stripped away, of completely losing loved ones and livelihoods, is made clear, and so is the need to preserve peace and prevent something like this from happening. Seeing Ukraine pillaged and decimated by its militaristic neighbor Russia, also a neighbor to Japan, has been a shock to us as well.

This isn’t just a Russian problem, however. With tensions escalating with Taiwan and the United States, China has conducted large-scale military drills, launching a ballistic missile into Japan’s exclusive economic zone. North Korea also continues its own missile and nuclear development.

As Japan’s national security is threatened, what can it do to maintain peace? This was a major issue leading up to last month’s upper house elections, where many parties took a serious stance, vowing to strengthen and improve upon the country’s defenses. The hope is that this would temper any would-be attacker’s fears that Japan would launch a counterattack. Parties that advocate this plan say they’d raise defense spending to achieve this. With these parties pulling out numerous victories after the dust of the election settles, Japan’s security policies look to be in for a change. Until now, defense spending has been limited to 1% of Japan’s gross domestic product, but now the Liberal Democratic Party looks to raise that to at least 2% within the next five years, a departure from the previous policy of relying on America in order to keep defense spending down.

This will be a massive increase, and with the expected enlargement of welfare spending, inflation stemming from the invasion of Ukraine and the continued drain on resources by COVID-19, many doubt exactly where the funds will come from.

We also must not allow ourselves to fall into an arms race by focusing on defense. We must actively encourage talks between China and the United States not only to prevent an arms race, but to promote disarmament between the two countries. There will be opposition, even from America, the leader of the free world. It will be vital for Japan to stick to peacetime diplomacy. Particularly as a member of the Asian community, Japan must work with countries in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific to help maintain the international order.

Sustaining peace while protecting people’s lives and livelihoods: Japan’s path to national security has reached a crossroad that requires the help of each and every citizen to overcome. On the anniversary of the end of our deadliest conflict, today is a good time to start.


終戦の日 平和堅持していくために

きょうは終戦の日である。先の大戦で犠牲となった約310万人を追悼し、平和への誓いを新たにする時だ。戦後77年となる今年は、ロシアがウクライナに侵攻を続ける中で迎えた。

 爆撃や砲撃で壊滅したウクライナの様子が、連日のようにテレビに映し出される。空襲により焦土と化した、かつての日本を見ているかのようだ。理不尽に命や自由を奪われ、愛する人々を失った悲しみや平穏な暮らしが一変した苦しみが伝わってくる。

 こうした惨状を引き起こさぬよう、平和を守る大切さを、誰しもかみしめていよう。軍事大国が正当な理由もなく隣国のウクライナに攻め込んで虐殺や略奪を行った暴挙は、同じくロシアの隣国である日本に大きな衝撃を与えた。

 ロシアだけではない。台湾をめぐって米国との緊張が高まる中で中国は大規模演習を行い、日本の排他的経済水域(EEZ)に弾道ミサイルを落下させた。北朝鮮は核やミサイルの開発を続ける。

 日本の安全保障環境が厳しくなってきた中で、平和を守るために日本がどう対応すべきか。7月の参院選でも大きな争点として各党が訴え、慎重姿勢だった政党も含めて、防衛力の強化や質的向上を打ち出すケースが目立った。反撃を恐れて相手が日本を攻撃するのを思いとどまらせる「抑止力」を高める狙いだ。これに伴う防衛予算の増額も多くの党が訴えた。

 選挙結果は、こうした主張の政党が多数を占め、日本の安保政策は大きく変わろうとしている。これまで日本は防衛費を国内総生産(GDP)比1%以内を目安に抑制的にしてきた。自民党は2%以上を念頭に5年以内に防衛力増強を図る考えを示している。米国に頼りながら防衛費を抑える「軽武装・経済重視」というこれまでの路線の転換につながる可能性が出てきた。

 ただ、防衛費の増額は巨額になる。今後、社会保障費が確実に増大していくことが見込まれ、ウクライナ問題に伴う物価高や新型コロナウイルス禍への対応なども急務だ。その中で財源をどう確保できるのかには疑問も大きい。

 防衛力の増強により、軍拡競争に陥ることは避けなければならない。米中対話の後押しなどを通じて軍備拡張に歯止めをかけ、軍縮を促していくことに日本は積極的な役割を果たしていくべきだろう。

 人権や民主主義を強く押し出す米国には反発もある。そうした国々へ日本が、これまでの平和外交を基に働きかけることも重要だ。特にアジアの一員として、東南アジアや南太平洋諸国などとの対話を進めて国際秩序の維持に貢献していくことが求められる。

 戦争を回避して平和を維持し、人々の生命や財産を守っていく。日本の安保政策が大きな岐路を迎えた今、国民一人一人が考えていかねばならない。終戦の日をそんな契機にしたい。
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