Why We Want To Change Article 9 Of The Constitution

On August 15th, 1945 Japan surrendered from World War II after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, respectively. Since World War II, Japan has enacted a law, which prevents the use of offensive military capabilities. However, over the past few decades in Asia, there have been many conflicts between states, which one cannot ignore. On May 3rd 2017, Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe announced that he desires to change the substance of Japan's constitution, specifically the War-renouncing Article 9 and its perceived incompatibility for Self-Defense Forces. This topic was not new for Japan as previous Prime Ministers had proposed to make similar changes to the constitution, but progress never seemed to be made. …show more content…
The urgency of these discussions has been catalyzed by increased nuclear missile testing by North Korea, island disputes with China, South Korea, and Russia, and worries about a changing military relationship with the United States. In International Relations, Prime Minister Abe's desire to change Article 9 of the constitution is not well explained by a domestic level of analysis. For instance, after the announcement that Japan was exploring potential changes to Article 9, several states including, China, South Korea, and North Korea expressed concerns. By contrast other countries such as, the Philippines, United States are not as publicly concerned. The ideological framework of Neoclassical Realism and Constructivism can conversely be utilized to explain various levels of concern expressed by states in the international system in regard to Prime Minister Abe's decision to evolve Article 9 of the