Memorandum

Key LDP member: Defense debate misses real risk--fewer young people

The Asahi Shimbun
May 08, 2014

A prominent member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party says the current debate on the right to collective self-defense misses the mark: With a shrinking birthrate, Japan will not have the numbers for an army in the future.

In an interview carried in the June edition of Sekai monthly magazine published by Iwanami Shoten, Publishers, Seiko Noda, chairwoman of the party’s General Council, claimed that the Abe administration's argument on constitutional reinterpretation is shortsighted.

“The national security issue is closely linked with the problem of the declining number of children,” said Noda, who is a vocal proponent of countermeasures to deal with Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population.

“But lawmakers specializing in the national security issue tend to think of the two issues as completely separate.”

She pointed out that while the current Self-Defense Forces are comprised primarily of young people, it will become increasingly difficult for the SDF to enlist service personnel if the birthrate continues to rapidly decline.

“If the country really wants to review national security, it must be discussed to create a framework that can last at least 50 years,” Noda said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made it a priority of his term in office to change the government's interpretation of the Constitution in order to allow Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense.

Noda said Abe’s argument for revising the official government interpretation lacks “realism.”

The Lower House member urged Abe to clarify what benefits Japan can actually gain in exchange for playing expanded military roles.

“He must also discuss it, taking into account the realism that (SDF) members will kill or be killed (when Japan exercises the right to collective self-defense),” Noda said.

While LDP officials have proposed limiting the exercise of the right to collective self-defense to certain scenarios, Noda said the specifics are still too vague.

By KAZUKI UECHI/ Staff Writer