Japanese Hypocrisy

270,000 have signed a petition to the Norwegian Nobel Committee for Japan to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for Article 9 of the Japanese constitution. The article states that "the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or the use of force as a means of settling international disputes", and promises "land, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained". 'Japan actually has one of the biggest military forces in the world, although it operates under strict constraints. These were relaxed earlier this year when Mr Abe's government reasserted the "right to collective self-defence", which would allow Japanese troops to fight side by side with allies overseas.' (Times, 25 August) So the constitution renounces war but they have one of the biggest military forces in the world. RD