Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution is a clause in the National Constitution of Japan outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes involving the state . The Constitution came into effect on May 3 , 1947 , following World War II . In its text , the state formally renounces the sovereign right of belligerency and aims at an international peace based on justice and order . The article also states that , to accomplish these aims , armed forces with war potential will not be maintained , although Japan maintains " de facto " armed forces , referred to as the Japan Self - Defense Forces which may have originally been thought of as something akin to what Mahatma Gandhi called the Shanti Sena ( soldiers of peace ) or a collective security police ( peace keeping ) force operating under the United Nations . Text of the article . The full text of the article in Japanese : The official English translation of the article reads : Historical background . The failure of the collective security of the League of Nations led to the realization that a universal system of security could only be effective if nations agreed to some limitation of their national sovereignty with regard to their right to belligerency , and if the Security Council which had been a " closed shop " during League of Nations times , would open itself up to UN Members who would cede constitutional powers in favor of collective security . Like the German Article 24 , which was incorporated in the post - war German Constitution , and which provides for delegating or limiting sovereign powers in favor of collective security , Article 9 was added to the Constitution of Japan during the occupation following World War II . The source of the pacifist clause is disputed . According to the Allied Supreme Commander Douglas MacArthur , the provision was suggested by Prime Minister Kijūrō Shidehara , who " wanted it to prohibit any military establishment for Japan — any military establishment whatsoever . " Shidehara ' s perspective was that retention of arms would be " meaningless " for the Japanese in the postwar era , because any substandard postwar military would no longer gain the respect of the people , and would actually cause people to obsess with the subject of rearming Japan . Shidehara admitted to his authorship in his memoirs " Gaikō Gojū - Nen " ( " Fifty Years Diplomacy " ) , published in 1951 , where he described how the idea came to him on a train ride to Tokyo ; MacArthur himself confirmed Shidehara ' s authorship on several occasions . However , according to some interpretations , he denied having done so , and the inclusion of Article 9 was mainly brought about by the members of of , especially Charles Kades , one of Douglas MacArthur ' s closest associates . The article was endorsed by the Diet of Japan on November 3 , 1946 . Kades rejected the proposed language that prohibited Japan ' s use of force " for its own security , " believing that self - preservation was the right of every nation . The article ' s acceptance by the Japanese government may in part be explained by the desire to protect the imperial throne . Some Allied leaders saw the emperor as the primary factor in Japan ' s warlike behavior . His assent to the " anti - war " clause weakened their arguments for abolishing the throne or trying the emperor as a war criminal . Interpretation . Soon after the adoption of the Constitution of Japan in 1947 , the Chinese Civil War ended in victory for the Communist Party of China in 1949 and the establishment of the People ' s Republic of China . As a consequence , the United States was left without the Republic of China as a military ally against communism in the Pacific . There was a desire on the part of the United States occupation forces for Japan to take a more active military role in the struggle against communism during the Cold War . If Article 9 is looked upon as a motion to abolish war as an institution — as envisaged in the 1961 McCloy - Zorin Accords — then the Korean crisis was the first opportunity for another country to second the Japanese motion and embark on the transition toward a true system of collective security under the United Nations . In fact , however , in 1950 , following the outbreak of the Korean War , the U . S . 24th Infantry Division was pulled out of Japan and sent to fight on the front lines in Korea , and so Japan was left without any armed protection . MacArthur ordered the creation of a 75 , 000 - strong to maintain order in Japan and repel any possible invasion from outside . The NPR was organized by United States Army Col . Frank Kowalski ( later a U . S . congressman ) using Army surplus equipment . To avoid possible constitutional violations , military items were given civilian names : tanks , for instance , were named " special vehicles . " Shigesaburo Suzuki , a leader of the Japan Socialist Party , brought suit in the Supreme Court of Japan to have the NPR declared unconstitutional : however , his case was dismissed by the Grand Bench for lack of relevance . On August 1 , 1952 , a new was formed to supervise the NPR and its maritime component . The new agency was directly headed by Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida . Yoshida supported its constitutionality : although he stated in a 1952 Diet committee session that " to maintain war potential , even for the purpose of self - defense , [ would ] necessitate revision of the Constitution . " He later responded to the JSP ' s constitutionality claims by stating that the NSF had no true war potential in the modern era . In 1954 , the National Safety Agency became the Japan Defense Agency , and the National Police Reserve became the Japan Self - Defense Forces ( JSDF ) . In practice , the JSDF are very well equipped and the maritime forces are considered to be stronger than the navies of some of Japan ' s neighbors . The Supreme Court of Japan has reinforced the constitutionality of armed self - defense in several major rulings , most notably the " Sunakawa Case " of 1959 , which upheld the legality of the then - current U . S . - Japan Security Treaty . Article 9 Association . The founders of an association calling itself the " Article 9 group " stressed the need to remove nuclear power from the nation ' s energy policy in light of Article 9 of the Constitution and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster . Kenzaburo Oe , one of the nine founders of the Article 9 Association , spoke at the group ' s national rally in Tokyo in November 2011 , which drew about 700 like - minded people . Debate . Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution not only forbids the use of force as a means to settling international disputes but also forbids Japan from maintaining an army , navy or air force . Therefore , in strictly legal terms , the Self Defense Forces are not land , sea or air forces , but are extensions of the national police force . This has had broad implications for foreign , security and defense policy . According to the Japanese government , “ ‘ war potential ’ in paragraph two means force exceeding a minimum level necessary for self - defense . Anything at or below that level does not constitute war potential . ” Apparently when the SDF was created , “ since the capability of the SDF was inadequate to sustain a modern war , it was not war potential . ” Seemingly , the Japanese government has looked for loopholes in the wording of the peace clause and the “ constitutionality of the Japanese military has been challenged numerous times . ” Some Japanese people believe that Japan should be truly pacifist and claim that the SDF is unconstitutional . The Supreme Court , however , has ruled that it is within the nation ’ s right to have the capacity to defend itself . Scholars have also discussed “ constitutional transformation … [ which ] occurs when a constitutional provision has lost its effectiveness but has been replaced by a new meaning . ” The Liberal Democratic Party has interpreted Article 9 as renouncing the use of warfare in international disputes but not the internal use of force for the purpose of maintaining law and order . The opposing party , the Democratic Party of Japan , tends to concur with the LDP ' s interpretation . At the same time , both parties have advocated the revision of Article 9 by adding an extra clause explicitly authorizing the use of force for the purpose of self - defense against aggression directed against the Japanese nation . The Japan Socialist Party , on the other hand , had considered the Japan Self - Defense Forces ( JSDF ) as unconstitutional and advocated the full implementation of Article 9 through the demilitarization of Japan . When the party joined with the LDP to form a coalition government , it reversed its position and recognized the JSDF as a structure that was constitutional . The Japanese Communist Party considers the JSDF unconstitutional and has called for reorganization of Japanese defense policy to feature an armed militia . The interpretation of Article 9 , has been determined that Japan cannot hold " offensive military weapons " — this has been interpreted to mean that Japan cannot have ICBMs , nuclear weapons , aircraft carriers or bomber fleets . This has not inhibited the deployment of submarines , AEGIS equipped destroyers , a helicopter carrier , and fighter planes . Since the late - 1990s , Article 9 has been the central feature of a dispute over the ability of Japan to undertake multilateral military commitments overseas . During the late 1980s , increases in government appropriations for the JSDF averaged more than 5 % per year . By 1990 Japan was ranked third , behind the then - Soviet Union and the United States , in total defense expenditures , and the United States urged Japan to assume a larger share of the burden of defense of the western Pacific . ( Please note that Japan has a guideline of a limit of 1 % of GDP on defense spending , however , Japan defines a number of activities as non - defense spending ) Given these circumstances , some have viewed Article 9 as increasingly irrelevant . It has remained , however , an important brake on the growth of Japan ' s military capabilities . Despite the fading of bitter wartime memories , the general public , according to opinion polls , continued to show strong support for this constitutional provision . The different views can be clearly organized into four categories : pacifists , mercantilists , normalists , and nationalists . The current pacifists believe in maintaining Article 9 and claim the SDF is unconstitutional , and would like to detach Japan from international wars . The mercantilists have divided opinions about Article 9 although the interpretation is broadened to include the SDF , and believe that the SDF ’ s role should be retained to activities related to the United Nations and for non - combat purposes . They advocate minimal defense spending , and emphasize economic growth . The normalists “ call for incremental armament for national defense and accept using military force to maintain international peace and security ” . They support the revision of Article 9 to include a clause explaining the existence and function of the SDF . The nationalists assert that Japan should remilitarize and build nuclear capabilities in order to regain pride and independence . They also advocate revision of Article 9 to promote armament . Evidently , opinions range from one extreme of pacifism , to the other extreme of nationalism and complete remilitarization . The majority of Japanese citizens approve the spirit of Article 9 and consider it personally important . But since the 1990s , there has been a shift away from a stance that would tolerate no alteration of the article to allowing a revision that would resolve the discord between the JSDF and Article 9 . Additionally , quite a few citizens consider that Japan should allow itself to commit the Self - Defense Forces to collective defense efforts , like those agreed to on the UN Security Council in the Gulf War , for instance . Japan ’ s ability to “ engage in collective defense ” has been argued . The involvement of Japan in the Gulf War of 1990 , or lack of involvement , has provoked significant criticism . Despite U . S . pressure on Japan to assist America in Iraq , Japan limited their involvement in the war to financial contribution primarily because of domestic opposition to the deployment of troops . As a result of the painfully ardent disapproval from the U . S . during the Gulf War , Japan was quick to act after the September 11 attacks in 2001 . It was clear that “ the September 11 attacks led to increased U . S . demands for Japanese security cooperation . ” On October 29 , 2001 the Anti - Terrorism Special Measures Law was passed , which “ further broadened the definition of Japan ’ s self - defense . ” The law allowed Japan to support the U . S . military on foreign territory . This law provoked “ citizen groups [ to ] file lawsuits against the Japanese government in order to stop the dispatch of SDF troops to Iraq and to confirm the unconstitutionality of such a dispatch , ” though the troops sent to Iraq were not sent for combat but for humanitarian aid . Japan has actively built U . S . - Japan relations precisely because of Article 9 and Japan ’ s inability to engage in an offensive war . It has been debated that , “ when [ Koizumi ] declared support for the U . S . - led war on Iraq in March 2003 , and when he sent Japanese forces to aid the occupation in January 2004 , it was not Iraq that was in the Japanese sights so much as North Korea . ” Japan ’ s unstable relations with North Korea , as well as other neighboring Asian countries has forced Japan to batter and bend Article 9 to “ permit an increasingly expansive interpretation ” of the constitution in the hopes of guaranteeing U . S . support in these relations . In May 2007 , the then Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe marked the 60th anniversary of the Japanese Constitution by calling for a " bold review " of the document to allow the country to take a larger role in global security and foster a revival of national pride . Aside from Abe ' s Liberal Democratic Party , as of 2012 , the Japan Restoration Party , Democratic Party of Japan , People ' s New Party , and Your Party support a constitutional amendment to reduce or abolish restrictions imposed by Article 9 . A constitutional amendment would require a 2 / 3rds majority to effect it ( as per Article 96 of the Japanese Constitution ) . Despite numerous attempts by the LDP to change Article 9 of the Japanese constitution , they have never been able to achieve the large majority required , as revision is opposed by a number of Japanese parties including the Japanese Socialist Party and the Japanese Communist Party . International comparisons . In the Italian Constitution Article 11 is similar to the Japanese analogue , but the use of military forces is permitted for self - defense ( articles 52 and 78 ) and also for " peace - keeping " purposes , if agreed with international organizations : Italian : English translation : References . - Japan