Regarding Naoshi Koriyama's June 14 letter, "Article 9 has stood by Japan": Article 9 of Japan's Constitution has neither protected Japan nor prevented any type of enemy from causing harm to it. Article 9 was written by the American government after World War II to suppress Japan's military and prevent it from ever becoming a leading military power. Since 1947, the world has changed drastically. Japan is the third-largest economy, yet to this day, it still does not have a permanent seat at the United Nations.
Japan faces many threats from overseas with little recourse to Article 9 other than to wait until we are attacked first. China is already waging a covert cyberwar with us and North Korea continues to threaten us on a daily basis. Rogue countries continue to develop nuclear and biological weapons. The threats are real.
Japan cannot keep relying on others such as the United States to protect it. The U.S. is a declining superpower that has put its needs ahead of Japan's interests, as you can see with its strategic deployment of assets to the Asian region. Japan needs to amend Article 9 to support its own best interests.
I, too, am proud that Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force has not killed a single soldier of any country since the end of the war. But when that dreadful day comes, I want it to have the tools to succeed in the mission of protecting our great nation.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.