Over the past year, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appears to have all but lost his enthusiasm for military contingency legislation. Protecting the lives and property of the Japanese people from armed attack is the most important duty of the prime minister as the supreme commander of the Self-Defense Forces.
Like other nations around the world, Japan has been jolted by the new threats posed by the 9/11 attacks on the United States, the subsequent military campaign in Afghanistan and the gun battle between a North Korean spy ship and Japan Coast Guard ships in the East China Sea some 14 months ago.
In his policy speech to the Diet last February, Koizumi stressed the need for contingency legislation, saying: "We should bear in mind the adage, 'Be prepared and have no regrets.' It is the duty of our nation to establish a structure in times of peace necessary to ensure the independence and sovereignty of our state and to ensure the safety of our people."