Constitutional Problems of the Japanese New Secuity Law

On September 19, 2015 the ruling camp led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has enacted the Japanese new security law marking a significant departure from Japan's postwar pacifism. In this paper, I survey this law and point out the constitutional problems. The first problem, this law allows Japan to provide logistic support to the United States and other countries engaged in operations in situations with "important influence" on Japan's security. The second problem, this law allows Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense under three conditions : the attack results in a threat to Japan's survival, no other appropriate means are available, and use of force is limited to the minimum necessary. The third problem, this law allows Self-Defense Forces to participate in peacekeeping operations to protect civilians and it relaxes rules on use of weapons during peacekeeping operations. The fourth problem, a new permanent law allows Self-Defense Forces to provide logistic support to armed forces of other countries seeking to secure international peace. Then finally, I consider the change of civil life under the Japanese new security law