Article 9, Japanese Peace Constitution 101, Part 1

     If you, gentle reader, want to know what the big deal is about Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, it boils down to this: it commits the nation of Japan to eschew war and to maintain at most a small self-defense force. It is all but completely unique in the world.

Have a look:

The official English translation:

ARTICLE 9. (1) 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.
(2) 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.

    And here is the 2nd paragraph of the preamble to the same constitution:

    We desire to occupy an honored place in an international society striving for the preservation of peace, and the banishment of tyranny and slavery, oppression and intolerance for all time from the earth. We recognize that all peoples of the world have the right to live in peace, free from fear and want.

    We believe that no nation is responsible to itself alone, but that laws of political morality are universal; and that obedience to such laws is incumbent upon all nations who would sustain their own sovereignty and justify their sovereign relationship with other nations. 

    A bit of background: US General Douglas MacArthur was the de facto ruler of Japan from 1945-51 while the country was moved away from a feudal-style emperor worship system to a democracy. This meant, among other things, having a national constitution. Depending on the sources you consult, the constitution was forced on Japan, and especially Article 9, or while the idea of a constitution was MacArthur and the Allies' idea, the Japanese government of the day accepted it. Evidently, Charles Kades, MacArthur's associate, drafted Article 9.

    So here we are with a nation that constitutionally may not enter a war of belligerence, or maintain a significant standing armed force. Post-War Germany has a similar section in its constitution. Over the years, the governments of both countries have done whatever they can to circumvent these pacifist articles. 

    The conferences on Article 9 have served two functions: one is to help maintain and strengthen Article 9 despite repeated recent government sidestepping of its provisions (the Japan Defense Force participated in the Iraq War, for example). Secondly, the meeting of religious leaders from East Asia (especially Japan, and South Korea) and around the world is meant to call attention to Article 9 and the current realities of foreign military occupation in the region. 

    Two islands with a significant amount of suffering from the occupation are also two islands where some of the worst fighting took place in the Second World War. Like Hiroshima and Nagasaki in addressing issues of nuclear disarmament, Guam and Okinawa can speak to the depredations of war, especially on civilian populations.