| The right of self-defense has long been seen as a sovereign right of a nation, and self-defense is seen as the only lawful reason for a country to use forces by modern international law. So, although there are constitutions declaring abandoning war of aggression, there rarely are constitutions declaring abandoning war of self-defense. And the 1947 constitution of Japan is such a constitution. Article IX of the constitution declares that Japan will abandon wars, war potential and "no rights of belligerency will ever be conferred upon the State." It is the historical condition that made the constitution make such announcement and Article DC means much to the peace of the world.However, as the conditions inside and outside Japan changed, the social conditions turn away from the statement. Generally speaking, there are two ways to solve the problem: the changing of the constitution and the amending of the constitution. Because of the strict procession of amending the constitution and the disagreement of Japanese people on this problem, the Japanese government takes the way of changing the meaning of the article by using the government powers. The changing of article DC has been lasted for nearly 60 years. The history can be divided into 3 periods: the transition period, the self-defense period and the period breaking principles of self-defense. Meanwhile, the Japanese government has never given up amending the constitution, and the Prime Minister Koizumi even put forward a specific plan for amending the article. Thus the changing of the constitution and the intention of amending the constitution become the main problems we must discuss when studying the changing of Article DC.Besides, the changing of Article DC also involves the difference between the right of self-defense and war of self-defense, the using of the right of self-defense, the constitutionality of Self-defense Force troops and the right of collective self-defense, which cannot be ignored when discussing the problem.
|
PDF Full Text Request