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2016/02/18
DPJ and JIP cosponsor Territorial Security Act, security legislation revisions
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On February 18, the DPJ and the Japan Innovation Party jointly submitted to the Diet legislation for a Territorial Security Act, along with revisions to the Law Concerning Measures to Ensure the Peace and Security of Japan in Situations in Areas Surrounding Japan [now renamed the Law to Ensure Security for Situations that Will Have an Important Influence on Japan’s Peace and Security] and the PKO Law.
The Territorial Security Act deals with “grey zone situations”, where a situation arises in Japan’s remote islands that does not amount to an armed attack, and makes it possible for the police authorities and the SDF to respond speedily with the appropriate division of roles in such a situation. The legislation stipulates that the SDF will undertake maritime police actions when it is necessary to supplement policing functions normally undertaken by the Japan Coastguard, and contains provisions for establishing a territorial security zone, so that when a situation requiring the maintenance of public order or maritime policing actions occurs within that zone, such actions could be ordered speedily without requiring separate cabinet approval.
The Abe administration’s security legislation eliminated the concept of “areas surrounding Japan” from the Law Concerning Measures to Ensure the Peace and Security of Japan in Situations in Areas Surrounding Japan. In contrast, the proposed revision will maintain the concept of “areas surrounding Japan”, and limit the activities of the SDF overseas. At the same time, it will enable Japan to respond effectively to the new security environment by making it possible for rear area support such as providing supplies, repairs and maintenance and medical assistance, which have only been allowed in Japanese territory, to be undertaken in international waters, as well as establishing provisions for the SDF to assist Japanese citizens trying to return to Japan in order to escape a situation in areas surrounding Japan.
The revisions of the PKO Law will enable the SDF to respond to new needs now arising which exceed the scope of the duties envisaged when the law was enacted, including DDR (disarmament, demobilization and reintegration) and SSR (security sector reform). It also establishes provisions for the SDF to undertake “civilian protection measures” in the event that they receive an urgent request for assistance from civilians engaged in PKO activities.
In a press conference following the submission of the legislation, DPJ Deputy Policy Research Committee Chair Atsushi Oshima commented, “This legislation is the embodiment of our party’s commitment to ‘an exclusively defense-oriented policy that is realistic in Japan’s vicinity, restrictive in far-off regions, and active in humanitarian assistance.’” He explained the circumstances behind the joint submission, saying, “We decided to submit legislation that, along with the legislation to be submitted by five of the opposition parties calling for the abolition of the Abe administration’s security legislation, would properly demonstrate the DPJ and JIP’s vision of what realistic national security for Japan should look like.”
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