Report of the Portfolio Committee on Defence on Study Tour to Japan, dated 24 January 2003:
The Portfolio Commmittee on Defence, having undertaken a study tour to Japan from 14 to 20 April 2002, reports as follows:
A. Introduction
1. Background Japan and South Africa (SA) have similar positions with regard to many security-related issues; i.e. the need for nuclear non-proliferation, the banning of anti-personnel landmines, peace support operations and the promotion of democracy and human rights. Like SA, it is a military and economic regional power, which places certain responsibilities on it.
Even though Japan lacks natural resources, is 75% mountainous and is far from foreign markets, it has the second largest global economy. It furthermore has a per capita income of almost US$40 000 and a population of 126 million.
Japan's defence spending is comparable to that of China, even though its uniformed personnel is a tenth of that of China's. The Japanese Constitution, however, prohibits engagements in foreign military conflicts. Although the Japanese Self-Defence Force (JSDF) may partake in peace support operations, the JSDF may only act in self-defence of its own personnel.
The objectives of the study tour were to share views on parliamentary oversight, peace support operations, post-Cold War defence management, civil/military relations, arms control and the defence industry.
2. Courtesy calls Courtesy calls were undertaken to the following dignitaries:
* Mr ME Mminele, South Africa's acting ambassador
* Mr Nakatani, Minister of Defence Agency (i.e. Department of Defence)
* Mr K Tamaki, Chairperson of the Committee on Security (House of Representatives)
* Mr K Tameki, Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence (House of Councillors)
* Mr S Sugiura, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs.
3. Delegation The delegation consisted of Ms T R Modise, MP (ANC), Mr J N Mashimbye, MP (ANC), Mr V B Ndlovu, MP (IFP), Mr H C Schmidt, MP (DP), and Mr G Campher, Committee Secretary.
B. Defence Policy of Japan Japan's post-World War II defence policy was based on:
1. An exclusive self-defence posture.
2. Adherence to the Japan-US security arrangement.
3. The establishment of foundations for national security through efforts for peace and co-operation.
This is encapsulated in the Constitution, as follows:
"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 as a means of settling international disputes...
The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognised"
[Japanese Constitution - Article 9].
An example of this self-defence posture is the fact that the in-flight fuel apparatus of the American F-15J fighter aircraft, which is manufactured under licence in Japan, was removed so that the aircraft could not be used beyond Japanese airspace.
The US-Japan Security Treaty came into force in 1951. It stipulated that the USA will defend Japanese and regional interests and will maintain military bases with 100 000 personnel in Japan. This treaty forms the basis of Japan's Self-Defence Force (SDF) Act and its security policies. It also forms the basis of military co-operation between the two countries; i.e. joint military exercises, provisioning of goods and services, research and development, and technology transfers. This effectively means that the US is the formal guarantor of Japanese security.
In April 2002, the Japanese government submitted three pieces of legislation to the Diet (Japanese Parliament), in an effort to review security legislation. The first bill will define the basic framework for the government to make decisions with regard to a foreign armed-attack. It will enable the Prime Minister (PM) to establish a task team, should Japan come under military attack. The Cabinet will adopt fundamental policies, which must be approved by the Diet, to deal with the situation. The public will be obliged to obey these measures, as failure will result in fines or imprisonment.
The second bill will amend the SDF Act to enable the SDF to engage in necessary operations in the event of a military attack. It will authorise the SDF to initiate preparations for an attack, even before the PM, as commander-in-chief, has issued such an order. During the attack, the SDF might be authorised to apply force to fend off an attack and even to launch a counter-attack.
The third bill will grant the Security Council, an advisory body to the PM, greater power to deal with
emergencies.
The Diet The Diet consists of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, and came into existence in 1890 by virtue of the Meiji Constitution, which was based on monarchism. In this imperial Diet, the emperor, on the recommendation of senior statesmen, appointed the PM. The PM and his Cabinet was thus accountable to the emperor and not to the Diet or populace.
The new Constitution, i.e. the one after World War Two (WWII), proclaimed that sovereign power resided with the people and not the emperor, who became the symbol of the state. The PM and a majority of Ministers of State are currently designated from among Diet members. The Cabinet is collectively responsible to the Diet, and if the House of Representatives pass a vote of no-confidence, the Cabinet resigns en bloc or the House dissolves itself in order that an appeal could be made to the populace.
Members of the Diet are elected by universal suffrage. The 480 members of the House of Representatives are elected for a four-year term, while half of the 252 members of the House of Councillors are elected every third year for a six-year term. Members of the Diet are elected by proportional representation and single-seat or prefectural constituencies.
The Houses have Standing, Research and Special Committees. No business may be transacted unless at least one half of a committee's members are present. The only observers at meetings are the media and those that have the chairperson's permission.
C. Mr Takemi (Committee Chairperson: House of Councillors) Mr Takemi is the former State Secretary for Africa Affairs. He stated that the Constitution renounced war due to the fact that the populace, which did not prevent the military from plunging Japan into WWII, was repentant. The result was pacifism and strong civil-military control over the military. However, some sectors of the population, especially the youth, were against Article 9, because it made security arrangements inflexible. For example, Japan has the right to collective defence, like any country, as per the UN Charter, but Article 9 prohibits the use thereof. The result is that:
1. The JSDF may not defend another country during peace-keeping missions, even though that would defend JSDF units.
2. It could not provide military units to "Operation Enduring Freedom" in Afghanistan.
3. It cannot do anything about suspicious ships in its territorial waters.
Mr Takemi stated that he supported the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and wanted Japan to become more involved with African affairs. He also welcomed SA's role in pushing for UN reforms, SA's relentless struggle to overcome apartheid and SA's efforts to strengthen democracy. A Science and Technology Agreement was also recently signed between SA and Japan to enhance co-operation in this field.
D. Mr Tamaki (Committee Chairperson: House of Representatives) Mr Tamaki stated that the military did not account to the populace before WWII. However, its influence vanished after the war with the effect that pacifism, which was entrenched in the Constitution, became a dominant feature of Japanese society. He warned, however, that the Diet's power seemed to be waning, because approval for deployment of the JSDF for peace-keeping operations and the "War on Terror" was only sought after the deployments.
Japan was working tirelessly through international co-operation missions to improve security in the region, so that incidents such as the alleged kidnapping of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents could be addressed.
E. JSDF and Society The JSDF consists of the Ground Self-Defence Force (GSDF), Air Self-Defence Force (ASDF) and Maritime Self-Defence Force (MSDF), i.e. Army, Air Force and Navy. JSDF activities are supported by local governments and various groups. This support boosts the morale of JSDF personnel and promotes a feeling that they are working with the public to ensure Japan's security. The above-mentioned activities include recruitment operations and supporting retired JSDF members in their search for employment. The Reserve Force system has a broad understanding and acceptance within the private sector, which might be due to the fact that the Defence Agency (the DoD) provides subsidies to companies and organisations that employ reserves and retired soldiers.
F. GSDF Information Centre
This centre aims to inform the public on matters of defence, i.e. defence spending, defence operations, structure, size and force design of the JSDF and other defence forces, as well as on regional and international balance of power. The ASDF and MSDF have their own information centres. The centre has a theatre, with a three-dimensional screen, which show videos of the GSDF in action. There are also military video games and free photo opportunities in GSDF uniforms. The history of the GSDF, which was established after WWII, is also illustrated, whilst weapon systems (main battle tanks, armoured vehicles and attack helicopters), uniforms, parachutes and small arms are also on display.
The centre is open to both the JSDF and the public, and entrance is free. It plays a major role in educating the public on the role of, and the need for, a defence force, not only among the older generation, who did not want a defence force after WWII, but also among the younger generation, who serves as a feeder system for the JSDF.
G. Mr Nakatani (Minister of Defence) The Minister expressed his pleasure at the fact that the Portfolio Committee on Defence was the first SA parliamentary committee to visit Japan. He stated that Japan strongly believed in non-nuclear and non-offensive defence policies, as it was the only country that experienced the devastating effect of nuclear weapons. This resulted in a demilitarised society, where civilians do not own fire-arms. He added that SA had played a positive role in ensuring peace in the world and paid tribute to SA for having delivered four Nobel Peace prize recipients.
H. Mr Hayashi (Cabinet Peacekeeping Office) Article 9 provided the framework for International Co-operations, which has three aspects:
* UN peace-keeping operations (PKO)
* International humanitarian relief
* International election-monitoring activities.
The SDF was involved in seven international co-operation missions since 1992. These included Angola, Cambodia, Mozambique, El Salvador, Zaire-Kenya, Israel-Syria-Lebanon and Bosnia-Herzegovina. It had recently sent 700 SDF personnel to East Timor to monitor the "elections for independence".
Furthermore, the Cabinet approves, whilst the Diet ratifies, all peace-keeping operations.
Even though Japan contributed 20% to the UN PKO budget, the UN wanted it to be more involved in peace-keeping by providing ground forces. The SDF has certain constitutional constraints, and is therefore only used for medical, logistical, engineering assistance and rear support for other peace-keepers. It does not do patrolling, disarming or separation of belligerent parties. This may change due to the results of the "11 September 2001" attacks in the US.
Due to the restrictions contained in Article 9, the JSDF applies the following five principles whilst participating in a UN Peace-keeping Force (PKF):
* Agreement on a cease-fire should have been reached between the belligerents
* Consent from the host countries and the belligerents for the peace-keeping operation and Japan's inclusion in the PKF
* The operations should maintain impartiality
* The Japanese government may withdraw the SDF if any of the above cease to be satisfied
* The use of weapons should be limited to the minimum necessary to protect the lives of own personnel.
I. Mr N Odano (Director-General: Sub-Saharan African Affairs) Mr Odano emphasised the fact that Japan has an independent foreign policy as a sovereign country, in spite of the US-Japan security arrangement. For example, Japan has good relations with Iran, which it believes is an important player in the Middle East. Japan approached Iran to join the "War on Terror" campaign. Japan's strategy to apartheid was also different to that of the US. For example, whilst the US had an embassy in SA, Japan only maintained a consular office. Japan furthermore applied the sport boycott strictly, whilst the US did not.
He stated that the US-Japan security arrangement was useful, because it helped to stabilise the region. The strait between China and Taiwan was unstable because of missile launches by China, whilst the Korean Peninsula was unstable because of the remnants of the Cold War between North Korea and South Korea.
J. Mr Seriyama (Deputy Director: Defence Policy) The US-Japan treaty was militarily one-sided, because Japan would not be able to defence US interests, owing to Article 9. As such, Japan only provided logistical support to the US in the Indian Ocean during the "War on Terror" campaign.
The Tokyo International Conference on Africa's Development (Ticad) was established by Japan in 1993 as a vehicle to promote development in Africa. It was based on ownership and partnership and not only aid. SA's then Deputy President, Thabo Mbeki, attended and delivered a paper at Ticad 2 in 1998. Ticad 3 will be held during October 2003.
The primary theme of Ticad 2 was "Poverty reduction and integration into the global economy". It focused on:
* Social development, i.e. the promotion of education, health, access to water and the eradication or control of certain diseases
* Economic development, i.e. debt management, debt relief and the establishment of investment and technological promotion centres
* Basic foundations for development, i.e. destruction of anti-personnel mines, establishment of good governance forums and Asia-Africa forums.
K. Defence-related Industry Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is Japan's biggest defence company. It manufactures, designs, researches, develops, produces and tests armoured vehicles and main battle tanks.
Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Company Ltd is involved in the military and commercial engine market. It builds, overhauls and repairs engines for fighter aircrafts, passenger aircrafts, patrol aeroplanes, flying boats, helicopters, space shuttles and ships.
Most defence companies are diversified, because of the small defence industry. The decrease of defence budgets globally resulted in the downscaling of the local defence industry. The Japanese defence budget is, nevertheless, relatively high, due to the fact that:
* Japan cannot export its military products, because of Article 9
* Locally- produced defence equipment are more expensive, because of a lack of competition. The result is that the industry is not efficient, as it cannot recoup some of the massive capital inputs from exports.
L. Recommendations The delegation recommends as follows:
1. That the Department of Foreign Affairs be requested to investigate the issue of allowances for the diplomatic corps, because the standard of living is quite high in certain countries.
2. That the SA government promote the reserve system in the broader community through partnerships and incentives, particularly in the private sector.
3. That the Department of Defence establish information centres to broaden public understanding and appreciation of the SANDF.
4. That the SANDF and the JSDF share knowledge and expertise.
5. That economic, political, cultural and defence ties be strengthened with Japan.
M. Appreciation The delegation would like to thank our Acting Ambassador and the Japanese Ambassador, as well as their respective staff, for the assistance and friendship which assured the success of the visit.