Is Japan NOT allowed to build it's army?

I read this somewhere and was shocked! Apparently the US or UN prevents Japan from building an army with the same might that it posesed in WW2, as well as weapons. Is this true? I mean Japan was so mighty during ww2, and now I barely hear anything about their military power.




A side question here. Why does the US condemm every God damm nation on Earth from creating nukes, when we are the only ones to have used them, and we have them stockpiled. I can understand why people hate us, bunch of hypocrites.

Thank you for future answers.

Just off the top of my head, without my notebooks:

Local "in the know" conspiracy guy Ben Fulford says Japan is America's chibu. (that means bit$h)
They are constantly being threatened with HAARP earthquakes, tsunami's etc, if they don't do what the US wants.

Thoughts?

well that was part of Japan's unconditional surrender. They do have an army, or "defense force" although they are not allowed to deploy said force internationally. It goes by various names but "SDF" or "self defense force" is the most common. Their forces are overshadowed by US military personnel.

Korean concerns have re-ignited desires for a more "army-like" military force, and less the civilian contractor style force of post-WWII.

Ministry of Defense (nee Japan Defense Agency {Bôeichô}; nee Japan Self-Defense Force)

For your Japan question, it was recommended by Japanese officials after the restoration of the Japanese Government post-World War II that there be ZERO chance for another Japanese take over of any nation by disabling its military; the United States agreed to it, naturally.

It is known as Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution.



In later years, however, the Japanese Government found a loophole in their Constitution. They then founded the Japanese Self-Defense Force, or JSDF. Over the years they have been contesting the clause above, and most of the time they were denied the ability to create certain weapons.

However, with the NK tension, as well as the occasional bickering from China or SK, the Japanese Ministry of Defense is pushing for a stronger defense force. They currently have a $44 Billion military budget, which is nothing compared to our $651 Billion, which is first in the world.



Some would say that it is to prevent yet another cataclysmic disaster from happening like the one on Japanese soil, while others would call the United States a bunch of hypocrites. We ARE hypocrites, but our cause to prevent more nuclear weapons from being proliferated is just. I support our actions to keep the nukes out of the wrong hands even though we have them, and that could still be the wrong hands to some people.

[edit on 21-8-2009 by Bushido Kanji]

I don't get how this makes any sense. It was a war, the US nuked, they said surrender. So now they can't build a mighty army, because they declared surrender? Can the Germans??? How does this make any sense at all?!

Just another example of how the US tries to stretch it's imperialism.

reply to post by Redneck from Hell

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Read my post above yours.

Maybe it will make you understand a bit more.

This sounds like what happened to Germany after WW1. To prevent such a horrific war from taking place agian limitations were put on their military and economy, obviously it didn't work. The US is not acting as the world's policeman when it comes to nuclear weapons, we just don't want other countries to go down the same road we did. If the US and Russia had launched a nuclear war this WORLD would be a frozen nothing nowhere planet in a nothing nowhere part of space.

reply to post by Redneck from Hell

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The Japanese placed this restriction on there armed forces it was not required or requested by the United States. The German armed forces have no such restrictions.There is a movement starting to take hold to change there Constitution.Arguments bing used for example is if an American Ship was attacked in Japanese waters they couldn't even come to its defense of there ally .Part of this self imposed restriction i think the Japanese were very much a warrior culture and at that time believed if they allowed there military to get to strong it could lead to another war. I know it sounds crazy but the japan we know today was alot different in the 1940s.

The Japanese have enough nuclear material in storage to MATCH the nuclear arsenal of the USA or Russia in an extremely short time, even delivery systems. Think two years or less, given their strength as an industrial powerhouse, let's VOW to never excite their need for rewriting their self limiting constitution. They are a very different people that history shows, they would die for a heck of a lot less than the rest of us would.

They are extraordinary in so many ways and are, especially, extraordinary at PEACE, now, instead of war. If they became militarily ambitious, they would be a superpower in the blink of an eye. What a fantastic ally they are and we should commend them daily on their resolve for peace. Their military ambition or lack thereof is oppositely proportional to our need to ensure they have NO NEED to militarize.

the US has bases in japan and germany as conditions of surrender circa ww2. other conditions included limiting the size, function, deployment, and firepower. as noted, that hasn't stopped either of them from forming 'defense' forces.

in war there is no prize for second place. it only means first loser.

the japanese did to the chinese what germany did to europe.

honestly i never understood the 'humanitarian' notion of sending aid to the same place you just carpet bombed. defeats the purpose. sends a mixed signal.

it was a noble gesture on behalf of the japanese, to abandon war. but then again it is easy to be small and humble after having your ass handed to you. shame and dishonor were/are a big deal in japanese culture. back then they probably felt they deserved to be disarmed... espesially after such a complete loss of 'honor'.

The post-war constitution of Japan was written by Americans. Douglas MacArthur in particular is credited with a lot of it - including the bits that forbid the use of anything more than a defensive force.

He's also singlehandedly responsible for making cannabis illegal in Japan. Thanks, Doug. Way to go.

and you wonder why the rest of the world hates 'em?

You sound like an ignorant brat. How exactly did they get their asses handed to them. Both sides took enourmous loses. If by that you mean atomic bomb, then not only do you sound like an ignorant brat, but you prove to us u indeed are one.
Loss of honor how?All you're doing is throwing a complete biased mouth trash without backing it up. Please go back to your tv and watch it till the sofa gets up and leave.

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean?

As you may infer by my username and avatar, I am studying the Japanese culture, as well as its rich history of war and code of honor. Many Japanese people did feel as though they had failed and disgraced their ancestors by losing in battle, but just like here the US, not all are patriotic toward the cause. A lot of the kamikaze units, utilized when the Japanese felt as though they were losing the war in the Pacific, consisted of young, smart men that had yet to graduate college.

That shows how much pride their people have, although some are not as fanatical. You may call it brainwashing, but it has been a tradition for thousands of years. It was written into law back during the Sengokku era, or the Warring States period, as Bushido (The Way of the Warrior). It was a creed of honor and everyone lived by it, not just the warrior, or samurai.

It was mainly the leadership of the militaristic regime during WWII that felt the brunt force of the dishonor. The people were trying to recover from the bombings, from not just the atomic bombings, but the strategic bombings of industrial cities as well.

Why dosen't the US want other countries to have the bomb is because lets say Iran and Israel go to war they nuke each other were is that fallout going right to your house were you'll glow and cook from the inside and crops will be full of radiation yummy.Now if was just for power and thats it, I don't think it matters,But as you can see not a lot of nice guys want nuclear power but the bomb and then the US will be blamed for not stopping these countries from getting the bomb.

My opinion, based on living and working in Japan for 7 years, is that you're romanticizing the affect of bushido on the general population of Japan - and bushido in general, for that matter.

Bushido in Japan (with the exception of samurai) is an undercurrent, in the same way that the Protestant Work Ethic is an undercurrent in Western Society. It would be fairer to compare bushido with the various military codes of conduct that exist in the West - death before dishonour, for god and queen and country, oaths of fealty to X, and so forth.

Yes, it's an important part of understanding Japanese culture - but far less so than Shinto or Buddhism. Sorry, it just bugs me when people cling to bushido codes as explanation for all things Japanese - because it makes the Japanese seem more like Klingon.

Reading through that article, it makes me damm ashamed to be half Japanese. The Japanese stopped so low as to rid themselves of their own power.

You could say theres no more honor, in that culture because it was all written away. Let themselves be taken over and made a "bitch", for which it deserves all that may come to it.
When the US ditches them with their **** in their hands, that will be a moment to remember.



And about the whole American atomic bomb, hypocracy thing. Can't you guys look past your own point of view? The fact that the US has atomic bombs, and condams others makes it the world police.
Put yourself on the place of an Iranian. You'd think that you have every right to have them, and that the US are hypocrits to posses, and tell everyone they can't have them.
Don't you see that it's all about your nationality. What makes you think the US is the good guy, and has the right to have them?

reply to post by vox2442

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I wasn't saying Bushido was the only thing of cultural significance in Japan, I was just stating that because someone else questioned the loss of honor.

I am aware of Shinto and Zen Buddhism, as well as Bushido. I am sorry if it came out differently.

[edit on 21-8-2009 by Bushido Kanji]

reply to post by Redneck from Hell

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I wouldn't take it that hard.

The alternative was (a) losing Hokkaido to the Soviets (b) the complete occupation (and likely annexation) of everything from Okinawa to Aomori by the Americans.

The death of Japanese culture, in other words. There were plans put forth during the post-war occupation to ban the use of kanji in Japan - move everything to romaji. That alone would have destroyed Japanese culture by now.

Japan's leaders did what they had to do. And Japan is stronger as a result.