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| Shinzo Abe’s Bid to Redefine Japan and Its Military Has Echoes of Family History | Shinzo Abe’s Bid to Redefine Japan and Its Military Has Echoes of Family History |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| In a famous photograph from his childhood, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan is seen perched on the knee of his smiling grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, the influential postwar prime minister. There is no sign of the turmoil just outside the family home, where thousands were protesting Mr. Kishi’s plan to extend Japan’s military alliance with the United States. | |
| The scene, and the parallels between Mr. Abe and Mr. Kishi, who died in 1987, have taken on renewed significance in Japan this summer. | The scene, and the parallels between Mr. Abe and Mr. Kishi, who died in 1987, have taken on renewed significance in Japan this summer. |
| Mr. Abe, who has pushed through a series of measures that would allow the military to send soldiers on overseas missions for the first time since World War II, is now facing protests of his own over his more assertive security policy. But he remains stubbornly true to his long-held ambition to reshape Japan’s national identity, stripping it of what he sees as a self-destructive pacifism while establishing some independence in military matters from the United States, the wartime enemy that became the country’s postwar ally and protector. | Mr. Abe, who has pushed through a series of measures that would allow the military to send soldiers on overseas missions for the first time since World War II, is now facing protests of his own over his more assertive security policy. But he remains stubbornly true to his long-held ambition to reshape Japan’s national identity, stripping it of what he sees as a self-destructive pacifism while establishing some independence in military matters from the United States, the wartime enemy that became the country’s postwar ally and protector. |
| While playing out as a domestic issue, the debate over Japan’s military posture has far-reaching implications for security policies in the region, where the United States has long held sway but is being challenged by a resurgent Chinese military that is increasingly willing to project its power. After a series of confrontations with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea, many Japanese officials have begun to harbor doubts about whether they can truly rely on Washington to defend the country’s interests. | While playing out as a domestic issue, the debate over Japan’s military posture has far-reaching implications for security policies in the region, where the United States has long held sway but is being challenged by a resurgent Chinese military that is increasingly willing to project its power. After a series of confrontations with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea, many Japanese officials have begun to harbor doubts about whether they can truly rely on Washington to defend the country’s interests. |
| “A military alliance is a blood alliance,” Mr. Abe wrote in a 2004 book, explaining his thinking, which has changed little, if at all. “If Japanese don’t shed blood, we cannot have an equal relationship with America.” | |
| But his push to give the Japanese military a greater role is being met with growing protests that, though smaller than those of two generations ago, have nonetheless raised the temperature of long-simmering national debates and cut into Mr. Abe’s political standing. | But his push to give the Japanese military a greater role is being met with growing protests that, though smaller than those of two generations ago, have nonetheless raised the temperature of long-simmering national debates and cut into Mr. Abe’s political standing. |
| Questions have been raised about how far Japan should go in rebuilding its military power and whether it should broaden the reach of its security partnership with the United States to areas far beyond its own borders. A string of anniversaries commemorating the war’s end 70 years ago have given the issues an extra charge. | Questions have been raised about how far Japan should go in rebuilding its military power and whether it should broaden the reach of its security partnership with the United States to areas far beyond its own borders. A string of anniversaries commemorating the war’s end 70 years ago have given the issues an extra charge. |
| Mr. Abe, political scientists and historians say, sees himself as a transformative leader whose mission is to impose decisive answers on these questions, and in so doing, to drag this reluctant nation toward goals he shares with his grandfather. | Mr. Abe, political scientists and historians say, sees himself as a transformative leader whose mission is to impose decisive answers on these questions, and in so doing, to drag this reluctant nation toward goals he shares with his grandfather. |
| “Kishi wanted to clear away the remnants of the war, but he felt he was never able to complete the task,” said Yoshihisa Hara, a professor at Tokyo International University, who interviewed Mr. Kishi extensively several years before his death. “Abe worships his grandfather, and he’s taken up his mantle.” | “Kishi wanted to clear away the remnants of the war, but he felt he was never able to complete the task,” said Yoshihisa Hara, a professor at Tokyo International University, who interviewed Mr. Kishi extensively several years before his death. “Abe worships his grandfather, and he’s taken up his mantle.” |
| Takashi Shinobu, a professor at Nihon University, said both men’s politics hinged on an ambivalent attitude toward the United States, one that combined resentment over elements of the postwar settlement — especially the pacifist, American-drafted Constitution — with a pragmatic view of the military and economic benefits of partnership. | Takashi Shinobu, a professor at Nihon University, said both men’s politics hinged on an ambivalent attitude toward the United States, one that combined resentment over elements of the postwar settlement — especially the pacifist, American-drafted Constitution — with a pragmatic view of the military and economic benefits of partnership. |
| Where Mr. Kishi cultivated the United States as a shield against Soviet communism, Mr. Abe’s concern is the growing regional might of China, whose relations with Japan remain marred by disputes over maritime territory and wartime history. | |
| In a statement that Mr. Abe plans to issue on Friday to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat, he is expected to broadly uphold past official apologies for the country’s imperial expansionism. But even small deviations from accepted formulas could anger China and South Korea, another neighbor where resentment remains strong. | In a statement that Mr. Abe plans to issue on Friday to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat, he is expected to broadly uphold past official apologies for the country’s imperial expansionism. But even small deviations from accepted formulas could anger China and South Korea, another neighbor where resentment remains strong. |
| Mr. Abe is on the verge of achieving at least one specific goal that eluded his grandfather. | Mr. Abe is on the verge of achieving at least one specific goal that eluded his grandfather. |
| Last month, in a stormy session, the lower house of Parliament passed legislation that would allow Japan to send its military on combat missions overseas for the first time since the war. It is now before the upper chamber, where it is also expected to win approval. Mr. Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and its smaller coalition partner, Komeito, control a majority of the house’s seats. | Last month, in a stormy session, the lower house of Parliament passed legislation that would allow Japan to send its military on combat missions overseas for the first time since the war. It is now before the upper chamber, where it is also expected to win approval. Mr. Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and its smaller coalition partner, Komeito, control a majority of the house’s seats. |
| The legislation, a package of 16 related bills, is the outcome of a widely contested new interpretation of the Constitution, which previous governments had seen as forbidding all but the most strictly defensive use of force. The bills would permit Japanese forces to fight only in defense of allies, and only under restricted circumstances. But opponents accuse Mr. Abe of doing an end-run around the basic law, which he lacks the political support to amend. | |
| Most constitutional experts say the legislation violates the charter, and some Japanese fear it could embroil Japan in American military commitments in the Middle East and elsewhere. While it was the United States that imposed the pacifist Constitution in the first place, it has long urged Japan to take on a more muscular military role. The Japanese public appears to prefer the status quo: Mr. Abe’s support has slipped below 40 percent in recent surveys, a little over half the level he had soon after he took office at the end of 2012. | |
| Kuni Miyake, a former diplomat who was part of a group of experts advising Mr. Abe on history issues ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, said that while a more “mutual” United States-Japan relationship might soothe the pride of nationalists, Mr. Abe’s strategy was informed mostly by pragmatism. | Kuni Miyake, a former diplomat who was part of a group of experts advising Mr. Abe on history issues ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, said that while a more “mutual” United States-Japan relationship might soothe the pride of nationalists, Mr. Abe’s strategy was informed mostly by pragmatism. |
| “He knows China is too big for Japan to face by itself, and the best way to ensure American engagement in the long run is to offer something in return,” he said. “If there’s a dream, it’s to become a normal, NATO-type ally of the U.S.” | “He knows China is too big for Japan to face by itself, and the best way to ensure American engagement in the long run is to offer something in return,” he said. “If there’s a dream, it’s to become a normal, NATO-type ally of the U.S.” |
| How much closer Mr. Abe will get to achieving that dream remains uncertain. Experts said he was unlikely to drop his support for the formal constitutional changes required to give Japan a fully unfettered military. But the public backlash against the security bills was a reminder of the obstacles he faces. | How much closer Mr. Abe will get to achieving that dream remains uncertain. Experts said he was unlikely to drop his support for the formal constitutional changes required to give Japan a fully unfettered military. But the public backlash against the security bills was a reminder of the obstacles he faces. |
| Mr. Abe shares a comeback story as well as a worldview with his grandfather. Mr. Abe is having a rare second stint as prime minister, after resigning once in 2007 amid health problems and political-funding scandals in his cabinet. | Mr. Abe shares a comeback story as well as a worldview with his grandfather. Mr. Abe is having a rare second stint as prime minister, after resigning once in 2007 amid health problems and political-funding scandals in his cabinet. |
| Mr. Kishi’s comeback was more dramatic: After serving in Japan’s wartime government, he spent three years in American detention as a suspected war criminal, though he was never charged. When he returned to politics it was as a Cold War anti-Communist, complete with American support and funding. | Mr. Kishi’s comeback was more dramatic: After serving in Japan’s wartime government, he spent three years in American detention as a suspected war criminal, though he was never charged. When he returned to politics it was as a Cold War anti-Communist, complete with American support and funding. |
| The leftist demonstrators who converged on the Kishi home, in 1960, opposed his plans to extend Japan’s alliance treaty with the United States and allow the Americans to continue stationing troops and weapons in the country. Hundreds of thousands more surrounded Parliament, some clashing violently with the police. | The leftist demonstrators who converged on the Kishi home, in 1960, opposed his plans to extend Japan’s alliance treaty with the United States and allow the Americans to continue stationing troops and weapons in the country. Hundreds of thousands more surrounded Parliament, some clashing violently with the police. |
| Mr. Kishi pushed the extension through, including changes that gave Japan more say over how the United States used its forces in the country. But he resigned soon after, over the social unrest that erupted over the issue. Mr. Abe has written of the admiration he felt for his grandfather for sacrificing for his principles. | |
| “In his mind, that’s the heroism that defines his grandfather,” said Mr. Hara of Tokyo International University. “Abe isn’t ready to leave office yet, but on some level, he may eventually want to go out the same way.” | “In his mind, that’s the heroism that defines his grandfather,” said Mr. Hara of Tokyo International University. “Abe isn’t ready to leave office yet, but on some level, he may eventually want to go out the same way.” |