MEDIA REACTION Q CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS ON SDF -

UNCLAS TOKYO 002170 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR, EAP/J, EAP/P, PM; USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE; TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI; SECDEF FOR OASD/PA; CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE; PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION Q CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS ON SDF - TOKYO ¶1. LEAD STORIES: Most Tuesday morning papers front- paged DaimlerChrysler's decision to sell the bulk of its stake in the Chrysler unit to US private equity fund Cerberus Capital. These papers also gave front-page coverage to Monday's enactment of referendum legislation for constitutional amendment. ¶2. "Unrealistic Views of Opponents to Constitutional Amendment" The conservative Sankei carried an opinion piece by former GSDF General and Teikyo University Prof. Toshiyuki Shikata saying (5/15): "... Japan has finally taken a further step toward amending Japan's war- renouncing constitution with the approval on Monday by the Upper House of an historic national referendum bill.... It has been frustrating to learn that most opponents to constitutional revision were also opposed to defense cooperation between the US and Japan.... Even national lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have insisted that the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) is not a military force, considering that the Japanese constitution does not recognize the right of belligerency. Yet in the eyes of the Japanese people and those in neighboring nations, the SDF is nothing if not armed forces. As things stand, the international community will not recommend a strange nation like Japan as a permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC).... There are views in Japan describing US moves to relax sanctions and focus on a halt to North Korea's nuclear development - without touching on the North's possession of nuclear bombs Q as a crafty move, which runs counter to strengthening the US-Japan alliance.... The truth is that the US is only addressing the North Korean nuclear standoff as part of its global strategy, while dealing with Iraq, Iran, and the unification of the Korean Peninsula, as well as studying the future of US- China relations.... Although the US-Japan alliance is often called 'irreplaceable,' it is only natural that the US makes tactical and strategic moves, which serve the national interest of the US.... Japan, for its part, has just recently undertaken a plan to deploy a missile- defense system and review whether Japan can exercise a right to collective defense." DONOVAN