凯 Kai Vilmi

When Japan’s pacifist constitution was drawn up in 1947, United States occupation authorities led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur heavily influenced the final draft. Six decades later, the Americans appear to want it edited. The pressure started on July 22 when Japanese media reported that Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage had met Japanese politician Hidenao Nakagawa in Washington and told him that Article Nine, the provision in the charter renouncing war as a sovereign right, is hindering Tokyo’s ambitions to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. A day later, John Bolton, U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, told reporters in Tokyo that “the decision by Japan to modify that constitution would be welcomed and accepted by the United States.” America’s desire for another close friend on the Security Council is understandable. In the run-up to the Iraq War, the five permanent members of the council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — were hopelessly at odds.

— Far Eastern Economic Review, Intelligence, 4 August 2004. (Paid subscription required.)

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