Deployment of Japanese troops to Iraq

[AFFI 0]

Japan's military is restricted by Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan of 1946, which states that "Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes." Thus, Japan's current constitution prohibits the use of military force to wage war against other countries.

Japan's military is governed by the Ministry of Defense and primarily consists of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. The military budget of Japan is less than one percent of its GDP, though it is estimated to be the fourth largest in the world at $44.3 billion per year, as of 2005. The forces have been recently used in peacekeeping operations and the deployment of Japanese troops to Iraq marked the first overseas use of its military since World War II.

In 2004, the Japanese government ordered a deployment of troops to Iraq at the request of the United States: A contingent of the Japan Self-Defense Forces was sent in order to assist the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, sending 600 soldiers into Iraqi soil. This controversial deployment marked a significant turning point in Japan's history as it represents the first foreign deployment of Japanese troops since the end of World War II, excluding those deployments conducted under United Nations auspices. As Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan prohibits Japan from using military forces, the legality of this intervention is contested domestically.

[Amazon 7]

Come on.. everyone knows they HAVE to stay at home.... they are constantly under assault from Godzilla, Mothra etc.

[Gawain 0]

So?

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[Andy9o8 2]

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So?

You only say that because (props to Amazon) your avatar looks like Godzilla.

[Gawain 0]

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The military budget of Japan is less than one percent of its GDP, though it is estimated to be the fourth largest in the world at $44.3 billion per year, as of 2005.

That's simply because of the size of it's GDP. The UK's military budget is somewhere around 2.5% of its GDP. France is 2.6%. Each within a few billion dollars of Japan's expenditures.

As to the deployment of a battalion of JDF troops, they were there to rebuild water treatment and other infrastructure. They were not an offensive force.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[warpedskydiver 0]

Tell the Japs that the insurgents taste just like sushi!

[JohnRich 4]

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The military budget of Japan is less than one percent of its GDP...

And furthermore, the fact that the U.S. has bases on Japanese soil and takes care of some of their defense for them, allows them to get away with smaller expenditures of their own.

[livendive 8]

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Japan's military is restricted by Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan of 1946, which states that "Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes." Thus, Japan's current constitution prohibits the use of military force to wage war against other countries.

I wonder how many terrorist attacks have targeted the Japanese over the last 20 years...

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[Gawain 0]

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I wonder how many terrorist attacks have targeted the Japanese over the last 20 years...

Not as many as some countries, but lest you forget the nerve gas attacks in the subways of Tokyo in 1995. It killed 12, injured over 1,000.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[JohnRich 4]

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I wonder how many terrorist attacks have targeted the Japanese over the last 20 years...

Do you believe that if America just brought home all of it's troops from other parts of the world and no longer exerted influence outside our own borders, that our enemies would no longer want to kill us?

What do you suppose would happen elsewhere in the world where our influence is the only thing preventing chaos and mayhem?

[livendive 8]

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I wonder how many terrorist attacks have targeted the Japanese over the last 20 years...

Do you believe that if America just brought home all of it's troops from other parts of the world and no longer exerted influence outside our own borders, that our enemies would no longer want to kill us?

What do you suppose would happen elsewhere in the world where our influence is the only thing preventing chaos and mayhem?

Who said anything about that? Japan's forces are allowed on peacekeeping missions, and I wouldn't call their government particularly isolationist. I'm sure that if we adopted a similar stance involving more diplomacy and less arrogance, there'd be plenty who held a grudge for some time after...but at least we'd stop making enemies faster than we can kill them.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[billvon 3,120]

>Do you believe that if America just brought home all of it's troops
>from other parts of the world and no longer exerted influence
>outside our own borders, that our enemies would no longer want to kill us?

Right now? Nope, they'd still want to kill us.

In 20 years? There would be someone else killing them; they would concentrate on killing them back, and ignore us. Consider why few people hate Sweden.

[ExAFO 0]

How would sushi fare in Baghdad heat?

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.