The Absurd US Bases in Japan

[marmar]

from Consortium News:



The Absurd US Bases in Japan
September 7, 2011

Anticipating a return to power after Republicans win in 2012, the neocons are now in a delaying game to stop any serious cuts in the U.S. military budget, including in the global network of bases, even in countries like Japan where – as Robert Higgs notes – the national security rationale has long since disappeared.

By Robert Higgs


After the Japanese government surrendered to the Americans and their allies in 1945, the U.S. military occupied the Japanese home islands and ruled the nation for several years. In due course, however, Japan’s situation was normalized, and, moreover, in 1946 the Japanese adopted a new constitution that renounced war as an instrument of national policy.

The constitution read: “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.

“In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.”

At that point, Japan no longer represented a threat, or even a potential threat, to the United States, apart from the threat that developed later that the Japanese would sell American consumers superior automobiles and consumer electronics, among other things. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2011/09/07/the-absurd-us-bases-in-japan/

[Sherman A1]

1. The bases are not about Japan

they are about the Far East and the projection of US power. Japan is simply a staging area. Should they be there at this point. Perhaps, perhaps not, but I suspect they will be for a very long time.

[marmar]

2. "I suspect they will be for a very long time. "

A bankrupt empire won't be able to afford them.

[Sherman A1]

3. While I agree with your assessment

that doesn't mean they will go away. We will find a way (perhaps tax cuts for the wealthiest which always seems to work or perhaps drug testing those on welfare) in which to fund them.

[trud]

14. there's always Social Security

we can give that up to fund those bases. I mean, isn't that what we're doing now, trillions for war, less for those pesky people in need?

[Sherman A1]

15. Excellent Idea

:sarcasm: I think we should suggest that to our Congressional Representatives.... (or perhaps.... maybe not).

:hi:

[Hosnon]

7. Agreed. As long as China's military grows, our presence in Japan will not diminish. nt.

[know nothing]

4. the Military Bases....

...are not there to protect against the Japanese, they are there to PROTECT the Japanese from N Korea and it's Dear Leader and other threats as well as being an important economic ally.. w/o any real means to defend itself, Japan needs the US forces. The Ground Self Defense Force is pretty much a joke and is the only "Army" they have. If we do pull out there, which I don't disagree with, it would take some real time for them to re-write their constitution and stand up an Army, Navy, and Air Force to actually defend themselves should they choose to do so.

[14thColony]

8. You're kidding, right?

Japan hovers around #7 in the world in annual defence expenditures -- that's in actual money spent, not as a percent of GDP. That puts them at about twice what South Korea spends on defence.

That gets them an army (ok, "Land Self-Defense Force") of 9 divisions (one armored) and 5 independent infantry brigades, an airborne brigade, an air assault brigade, two air defense brigades and an artillery brigade, plus a special forces group. The Type 10 main battle tank is one of the most advanced in the world, and even the "old" Type 90 MBT is on a par with the US M1A2 and the Leopard 2, meaning it can easily defeat nearly any other tank in the world.

That gets them an air force of nearly 400 fighter-interceptors, most of which are fourth-generation F-2s and F-15s. The US-designed aircraft they fly now are probably the last they'll ever fly, as the aerospace industry is gearing up to produce the next generation of combat aircraft domestically. By the way, their fighters carry their own active radar air-to-air missiles, not US ones. You can count on one hand all the countries in the world that can produce an active radar AAM.

And their navy fields 4x helicopter carriers, 8x guided missile destroyers, 36x frigates, and 16x attack submarines, not counting patrol boats and combat support ships. These are not outdated vessels. The newest classes are still being built, and even the oldest warships in the fleet far outclass nearly anything in the Pacific that doesn't belong to the US Navy. And the JMSDF has an air wing of over 300 aircraft of its own.

When combined with level of technology and training, this easily puts them in the top 10 most powerful militaries in the world, and regionally only China surpasses them. Add to that, to be a threat to Japan you have to be able to GET THERE, meaning air and amphibious lift capability on a scale even the US hasn't had since 1945.

Japan wouldn't have the slightest trouble defending itself against any conventional threat anywhere in the Western Pacific, and as demonstrated recently with Afghanistan and Somalia operations, can project enough power to protect its sea lanes far away from the Home Islands.

[Diclotican]

9. 14thColony

14thColony

Not bad for a self-defence force, who in theory are just there to defend Japan against enemies.. Pretty impresive naval, army and airforce you are pointing out... And most of it is, as you point out modern by all standards

Diclotican

[OwnedByFerrets]

12. Thank you for this post

[gejohnston]

11. Their Air Force is nothing to sneeze at either

Worked around them. While they do not have long range offensive capabilities, they can certainly deny North Korea or anyone else in the area air superiority if attacked. When looking at military spending, it is important to look at what is spent on operations, training, equipment, etc. and how much is squandered on painting rocks and base beautification contests (seriously). They have the same clubs, golf courses and other cool stuff (had to drive through a JNDF base to get to my favorite dive spot), they don't piss money away painting rocks or nice office furniture.

[rve300]

5. Japan pays for them

The govt of Japan foots most of the bill. It is cheaper for the USMC to station a Marine on Okinawa then back in the States.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. Just close the officers' golf courses ...

and see how long those bases are deemed "essential".

It's the comforts of those satrapies that makes them so desirable to the command class.

[gejohnston]

10. been watching too many old movies

the golf courses are all ranks, and a lot of us enlisted folk play golf too (although I was not one of them.) A US base in Japan is really no different than one here.

[hack89]

13. The Japanese pay a lot of money to support US bases

they want us there. They crave geopolitical stability for economic reasons and it helps them avoid the issue of acquiring nuclear weapons to counter China and North Korea.

We benefit because it saves us money and provides us a strong presence in a area vital to our security.

This author is an idiot.

[pscot]

16. Let's ask for donations

I don't want my tax money going to pay for Japanese or European security. If we're going to play mercenary, let our clients pay the bills. Six hundred billions on the war department while we have American kids going to bed hungry every night; it's obscene. It's nuts.

[classysassy]

17. All foreign military bases

should be closed they serve no purpose other than to protect American interest in the regions.We spend more money than we should to help countries that fought us over fifty years,how long must we remain?too long.With our long range bombers and the fleet in all the oceans of the world why ground troops,it's a waste of man power and money.Imagine all those troops inside America,the economy would improve because the military and their families spend millions of dollars in the cities and towns near military posts and bases.Bring the military home and bring all those companies that went to foreign markets so they could hire cheap labor and increase profits.