Russia has launched a military invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
In 2014, Russia annexed the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which was a constituent state of Ukraine, and since then, fighting has continued in the eastern provinces of Ukraine as a result of the independence movement of residents of Russian descent. A ceasefire agreement seems to have been reached for a while, but sporadic armed conflicts are said to have occurred on a daily basis.
In other words, Ukraine was in a state of civil war.
It is said that Russia invaded Ukraine because it felt threatened by Ukraine's desire to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a democratic and liberal state.
In addition, there seems to be a reason that Ukraine is not fulfilling the terms of the ceasefire agreement for any length of time.
Putin's real goal is to make Russia as strong as the Soviet Union once was again.
Ukraine has not been able to join NATO, and the nuclear weapons it possessed were abandoned under the Budapest Memorandum of Understanding signed with Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom in 1994, on the condition that the signatories would ensure Ukraine's security.
The memorandum also seems to include that Russia will respect Ukraine's independence and sovereignty, its existing borders, and refrain from threatening or using force.
So this invasion means that Russia has unilaterally violated this memorandum.
Both the U.S. and the U.K. have a responsibility to implement this memorandum, but so far they have only announced that they will impose economic sanctions on Russia and provide military material aid to Ukraine.
The end result is that there is no country that will fight militarily with Ukraine.
Neither the U.S. nor Europe can engage Russia in a face-to-face war.
It can be said that Russia invaded Ukraine in anticipation of this.
In the end, a small country like Ukraine can do nothing in the face of a big power.
Some people may think that this event has nothing to do with Japan, but what is happening to Ukraine is likely to happen to Japan as well.
Unlike Ukraine, Japan has a Japan-U.S. Security Treaty with the United States.
However, the U.S. is becoming more and more inward-looking with President Obama's statement that "America is not the world's policeman," President Trump's America First, and now President Biden.
Even if there is a Japan-U.S. alliance, we cannot expect the U.S. to shed blood for Japan if Japan does not have the will and ability to defend its own country.
Japan is surrounded by countries such as Russia, Xi Jinping's China, which has made its hegemony very clear, North Korea, which is a dictatorship that has no idea what it will do, and South Korea, which is hostile to Japan at every turn.
There is no doubt that the Constitution of Japan is a constitution based on noble principles, but unfortunately, there are countries that differ from Japan's principles.
We, the Japanese people, desire peace for all time and are deeply conscious of the high ideals controlling human relationship, and we have determined to preserve our security and existence, trusting in the justice and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world. 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, the Japanese people, desire peace for all time and are deeply conscious of the high ideals controlling human relationship, and we have determined to preserve our security and existence, trusting in the justice and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world. 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, the Japanese people, pledge our national honor to accomplish these high ideals and purposes with all our resources.
＜From The Constitution of Japan＞
The Japanese nation and the Japanese people have a responsibility to cherish and realize this philosophy.
In order to achieve this, I think it is most important for Japan to become a strong country.
A strong country is not only a military power. A strong country is not only a military power, but also a scientific and technological power, an economic power, and a country and its people that have the will and power to achieve the happiness of its people.
If we do not have a strong power, we will eventually be overrun by the big powers and make many people unhappy, not just the people.
It is a stern fact that we cannot maintain peace simply by chanting "no war" under the shield of Article 9 of the Constitution. The events in Ukraine are a wake-up call for us Japanese.
