I. Dream of a Military Power Covered by the Japan-US Security Treaty Since World War II, Japan and the United States have signed three Japan-US Security Treaties. From the development of these three security treaties, it can be seen that the Japanese adopted the strategy of "active defense" militarily, relying on the nuclear military umbrella of the United States, which laid a solid foundation for their dream of becoming a military power.

After the end of World War II, the world formed a confrontation between two camps headed by the United States and the Soviet Union.

According to the needs of geopolitics, the United States has determined the basic strategic policy of "the West engages in strategic offensive and the East engages in strategic defense". The first line of US strategic defense includes Japan, Ryukyu Islands, the Philippines and other countries and regions, and cooperates with Japan, the Philippines and New Zealand.

The signing of military treaties by Australia and other countries has enabled the United States to initially establish a deep Asia-Pacific military system in the Asia-Pacific region to "contain * * * imperialism". Because of its strategic position and economic potential, Japan has become the cornerstone of American East Asia policy and an important part of American Asia-Pacific military chain. It has become the frontier fortress of the United States against the Soviet Union and * * *.

195 1 The Japan-US Safeguards Treaty is an important part of the US military strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, and it is an inevitable requirement for the United States to continue to occupy Japan, freely use its military bases and consolidate its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. To this end, after reassessing Japan's strategic position, the United States turned from initially trying to weaken Japan to supporting Japan, making it a base and tool for the United States to invade Asia. The treaty includes the following parts: (1) The US military has the right to stay in and around Japanese territory; (2)

American troops stationed in Japan can "maintain" the "peace and security" in the Far East, and can send troops to suppress civil strife in Japan at the request of the Japanese government. (3) The abrogation of the treaty must obtain the consent of the United States. According to this treaty, the United States obtained the exclusive right to station land, sea and air forces in and around Japan and all the rights enjoyed by other occupied soldiers. This right enables the US military to send troops to suppress the Japanese people and send troops to fight in other countries in the form of treaties, thus giving the United States the right to fight in Japan.

It should be said that this treaty is an unequal treaty. The treaty stipulates that Japan should provide military facilities and funds to the US troops stationed in Japan. The US military, its families and their entourage enjoy the privilege of occupation, and the United States does not assume any responsibility or obligation for Japan's defense; Japan may not hand over any of its bases to a third country without the consent of the United States; Nor shall it grant the base or any power or authority related to the base, or the power of the armed forces to station, exercise or transit through a third country. It can be seen that all the power in Japan is controlled by the United States, and Japan is actually in a semi-independent state.

In the late 1950s, the United States was stepping up its competition with the Soviet Union for global hegemony. The United States believed that it was urgent for Japan to continue to play a role in its Northeast Asia strategy and act as a "small partner" for the United States to pursue its global strategy. Due to the improvement of Japan's international status after its economic take-off and the growth of Japanese people's anti-American sentiment, the United States revised its security treaty with Japan for strategic purposes. In fact, as early as the mid-1950s, the convening of the Bandung Conference meant the rise of third world countries, and the global strategy of the United States was severely impacted and challenged. What is a headache for the United States is that due to the rapid development of Japan's economy, it is no longer so obedient to the United States, and has turned from relying entirely on the United States to competing with the United States. It seems that the United States weakened itself by supporting Japan. It is such a change in the international situation and the change in the balance of power between Japan and the United States that determines the change in attitude of both sides towards each other. What is particularly prominent is Japan's aversion to the Japan-US security treaty. Because the treaty itself is an unequal treaty and Japan's feathers are constantly plump, it is increasingly opposed by the Japanese people. At the same time, this is also opposed by the Japanese government, which is bent on reviving its status as a political power.

The main contents of the treaty are as follows: (1) The Japanese-American military alliance has been added; (2) It is expressly stipulated that Japan undertakes the obligation to fight against the US military on its territory; (3) It is stipulated that the purpose of the US troops stationed in Japan is to maintain security and international peace in Japan and the Far East; (4) An armed attack on any side of the territory under Japan's jurisdiction will endanger its peace and security, and it is announced that it will take actions to deal with the danger of * * * * according to its constitutional provisions and procedures; (5) For the sake of Japan's security and maintaining international peace and security in the Far East, the United States is allowed to land.

The navy and air force use Japanese facilities and areas. It should be said that the strategic guiding ideology of the United States on the revision of the Japan-US security treaty has not changed much. Its intention is still to contain imperialism by military means, but to let Japan play a substantive role in its strategic intention, not just the base issue. This is the obvious response of the United States. During the Korean War, the "king" status of the United States was impacted to a certain extent, and its international status was difficult to compare with the past. As a new socialist country, China's international prestige is constantly improving, and its economy has also made great progress. Despite the pressure from the United States, some countries in Southeast Asia actively develop friendly relations with China, which poses a huge obstacle to the United States' goal of forming an anti-China collective security system in East Asia. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the United States associated the revolutionary movement of the Asian people with "China's aggressive ambition", and the expansion of China's influence made Beijing the "production center of Asia" in the eyes of American leaders. During this period, although the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union has eased, the global competition between them is still extremely fierce. Therefore, from a broad perspective, the purpose of the United States and Japan is to directly contain China, and the ultimate goal is to have a real contest with the Soviet Union, the largest country in the Eastern Group.

For the Japanese, it is a golden opportunity for the United States to amend the treaty for whatever purpose. Taking advantage of this opportunity to amend the treaty, the relevant provisions that are detrimental to Japan's sovereignty will be deleted from the treaty, and Japan's status will be improved. At the same time, the content of the old treaty that the US military can suppress domestic riots and riots in Japan was deleted, giving Japan the initiative to use the treaty. The new treaty stipulates the defense obligations of the United States to Japan.

The Japanese government should be consulted on the equipment of American troops and police and the use of Japanese military facilities in wars outside Japan. Japan's independence has been significantly strengthened. However, there is a sign that we can't ignore, that is, in the eyes of Americans, Japan has never been regarded as a true partner, and the United States' support for Japan is only for its own strategic purposes. Therefore, in the eyes of Americans, they simply don't want to see a Japan strong enough to compete with it. During this period, the political and military control of the United States over Japan was still very strict. If Japan wants to have the right to speak in the international arena, it must obtain the consent of the United States everywhere. At best, it is a small partner of the United States in pursuing global strategy, and Japan has indeed played an important role in the US Asia-Pacific defense strategy system. 196 1 year, Ikeda visited the United States and held talks with Kennedy. He readily agreed that the United States asked Japan to become a loyal ally of its anti-cold war policy in Asia, and said, "I think Japan has the responsibility to help other Asian countries achieve stability and development both materially and spiritually." This fully shows that Japan is in a defensive posture militarily, but there is also an offensive side in this defense. Japan's guiding ideology is to concentrate on developing the economy through the protection of the United States, make its national strength strong, and then strive to become a military power, but it will not miss any opportunity to break free from the shackles of the United States and open up a broader space for itself.

After the end of the Cold War, the world is in the transition from the old to the new, and peace and development have become the two major themes of today's world. The national strength of the United States was greatly weakened in the long-term arms race with the former Soviet Union. At the same time, under the conditions of the Cold War, many countries and regions in the world seized this important opportunity and used the decades of the Cold War to step up their own development and achieved remarkable results. Among these countries and regions, Japan is the most representative and successful one. As the second largest economic power in the world, the economic friction between Japan and the United States is increasing, which has seriously affected the normal relations between the two countries. Because Japan and the United States defended against the disintegration of the enemy Soviet Union, the foundation of cooperation between the two countries was further shaken, and the traditional strategic alliance between Japan and the United States was greatly challenged. After the Cold War, Japan increasingly hopes to play an important political role in the Asia-Pacific region. However, Japan and the United States are inextricably dependent on each other politically, economically and militarily, and they still need to maintain the necessary alliance with the United States. In the long run, this is conducive to Japan's status as a political power. However, when great changes have taken place in the international situation, the world is developing towards multipolarization, economic competition is launched on a global scale, and the focus of world economic development has shifted from the western Pacific and Europe to the eastern Pacific in Asia, facing this new international situation, the United States needs Japan's support and cooperation. America's world leadership has been seriously challenged. The United States proposes that strengthening its influence in the Asia-Pacific region is an important part of its global security strategy.

In the Asia-Pacific region, besides the United States and Japan, there are diversified forces such as China, Russian, Australian and Korean Peninsula. If the United States wants to maintain its economic interests and strategic position in the region, it urgently needs the support and cooperation of Japan with economic strength. Gone are the days when the United States assumed the arranged leadership alone. Especially when something happened in the Far East, Japan's assistance was needed to gain Japan's global military cooperation and firmly integrate Japan into the global strategy of the United States, thus ensuring the firm position of the United States in Asia. It is against this international background that Japan and the United States jointly issued the Declaration on Japan-US Security Assurance Facing the 2 1 century on April 7, 1996.

The contents of the declaration include: (1) It is indispensable for the United States to maintain its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region; (2) In order to maintain the US troops stationed in Japan, Japan continues to provide facilities and areas in accordance with the Treaty, and makes appropriate contributions by providing assistance from recipient countries. (3) The deterrence possessed by the United States according to the treaty will continue to be the basis of Japan's security guarantee; (4) In terms of regional cooperation, in order to make the security situation in the Asia-Pacific region more peaceful and stable, the two governments should make joint or separate efforts; (5)

Stipulate bilateral cooperation based on Japan-US security relations; (6) stipulate global cooperation. It can be seen that these contents have a wider military scope and more contents.

It should be said that the guiding ideology of the 1996 US security declaration is that economic security is the mainstay, supplemented by military defense. Facing the general trend of developing economy and maintaining world peace. Military forces withdrew from the first place and economic strategy rose to the main position. Starting from its global strategy, the United States believes that maintaining peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region is of vital importance to the United States. At this time, the foreign guiding ideology of the United States turned to balance the power of various countries in order to maintain the balance of power against the main opponents; From purely military means to diplomatic and economic means, it tries to influence the political process of various countries through various means. Japan has become the second largest economic power in the world today, and it is very important to support the United States economically and share military responsibilities.

In addition, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia's power was greatly weakened. Although Russia is still a global military power that the United States has to pay attention to, it is not the same as the former Soviet Union. However, socialist China did not disintegrate like the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, but the political situation was more stable and the economy was more developed. The United States regards China as its biggest potential enemy and destabilizing factor in the Asia-Pacific region. The United States tries to contain China through the new Japan-US security system and take joint military action against China if necessary. The statement that "military forces, including nuclear forces, are still heavily concentrated" in the Japan-US security declaration implicitly refers to China. The declaration emphasized the necessity of strengthening security cooperation in the case of possible tensions around Japan. This measure is clearly aimed at the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and People's Republic of China (PRC). Therefore, the Japan-US security declaration has actually shifted the defense object from the Soviet Union to China and North Korea. At the same time, we can see that the new Japan-US security declaration has changed the previous Japan-US dependence. According to the treaty, in addition to strengthening cooperation in peacekeeping, on the one hand, Japan insists on strengthening the basic role of Japan and the United States in global cooperation on the basis of the Japan-US security treaty, on the other hand, it can reduce the burden of Japan-US security system by participating in the Asia-Europe Meeting and expanding the scope of bilateral diplomacy. The reality that the protagonist in the treaty has changed from the United States to Japan is becoming clearer and clearer. The United States and Japan strive to coordinate the equal and constructive partnership established by the two sides. In addition to security and defense, Japan continues to rely on the strength of the United States, opposes excessive dependence on the United States, and strengthens independent diplomacy. The treaty also changed Japan's unilateral obligations, emphasizing that Japan-US defense cooperation is the premise of Japan-US security system. In addition to playing a corresponding military role in the treaty, Japan also plays the role of an economic power and a political power. Japan shoulders the great responsibility of the United States in the Asia-Pacific economic and security strategy. Japan plays an important role in maintaining the situation in Taiwan Province Province, the stability of the Korean Peninsula and local areas, the peace and security of the entire Asia-Pacific region, and the balance of power with China, the Russian Federation and ASEAN. Japan played a certain role in self-protection for its own security in the defense cooperation between Japan and the United States, and changed its image of being protected by the United States during the Cold War. Japan is transitioning from a "shield" of self-defense to a "sword" role, and the protagonist has changed from the United States to Japan.

From the evolution of the three Japan-US security treaties, we can see that the two sides have different purposes in maintaining the Japan-US security treaties. Japan and the United States emphasize that the Japan-US security treaty is an indispensable factor to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

This shows that if there is a new regional dispute in Asia, Japan and the United States can jointly introduce people, which is the similarity between Japan and the United States. As far as Japan is concerned, Japan-US security system is beneficial to its status as a political power. Japan is taking a relatively safe road, that is, developing its economy first, and then seeking the status of a political and military power, so as to revive the glory of its former great powers. Of course, it must also seize the opportunity to seek influence in world politics and "appropriately" develop its "self-defense" force. From the changes of Japan's role and status in the three treaties, it can be seen that Japan has changed from a small partner who listened to American words after the war to a "constructive partner" on an equal footing with the United States. It reflects Japan's impulse to seek a political and military power after its economic strength has increased. In its report, the Japan-US Defense Cooperation Committee, which is responsible for revising the Guidelines for Japan-US Defense Cooperation, said that Japan did not stop at the stage of providing only rear assistance to the US military when responding to emergencies around Japan, such as the Korean Peninsula and the Taiwan Province Strait, but coordinated with the US military to use the Self-Defense Forces to provide cooperation in the "unknown areas" of Japan-US defense. Tomaki Murata, Japan's undersecretary of defense affairs, admits that Japan's surrounding areas are wider than the Far East. Japan's military expenditure has been increasing in the past two years, which is the highest in the Asia-Pacific region. The improvement of Japan's military strength has enabled Japan to expand overseas from defense.

After World War II, the international community, especially countries in the Asia-Pacific region, lacked trust in Japan. If Japan wants to take greater risks and play a greater role in global affairs, it will attract people's attention to Japan. The establishment of Japan-US security system is very beneficial to Japan. Japan can not only rely on the support of the United States, but also increase people's trust in Japan and eliminate the hostility of Asia-Pacific countries to Japan, so as to carry out construction in a down-to-earth manner and lay a solid foundation for seeking the status of a political power. For the United States, the Japanese-American security system also has the side of curbing Japan's military power from surpassing the United States and being too powerful. 1990 In March, the commander of the US Navy in Japan, General stackpole, said in a conversation: "The US military stationed in Japan is a bottle cap to prevent the return of Japanese military forces." In April of the same year, a Pentagon report, Asia-Pacific Marginal Strategic Framework: Outlook 2 1 Century, pointed out that the main strategic goal of the United States in Japan is to prevent the Japanese army from developing its dedication, and the United States especially does not want to see Japanese aircraft carriers patrolling the Pacific Ocean. It should be said that the development history of the Japan-US security treaty is the history of the control and anti-control of Japanese and American military forces. Although Japan has won some victories with its strong economic and technological strength, it has not completely erased its subordinate color in the global partnership of the United States. As early as the beginning of 1970, the Prime Minister of the Ministry of the Sea put forward five indicators for establishing a new world order. Since then, Japanese officials have repeatedly claimed that Japan should play a leading role in establishing a new world order. However, on June 5438+0991111/when US Secretary of State Baker spoke with Prime Minister Gong Ze, Premier Gong Ze claimed that "the United States should play a strong leadership role on key issues, while Japan should support the efforts made by the United States and actively play its role. It can be seen that Japan now has to let the United States play the leading role and play the supporting role. Therefore, at best, it is only a partnership of relatively equal, which is still a long way from real equality. In this regard, Japanese officials believe that in order to support good Japan-US relations, the United States must make Japan a real partnership. The United States, on the other hand, claims that Japan must make efforts to contribute, not just use its bilateral relations with the United States to serve itself, in order to achieve Japan's goals.

From this point of view, Japan-US cooperation still has a long way to go, and more intense competition is yet to come. At that time, the United States supported Japan at all costs for its own interests, but I didn't expect Japan to pose a real threat to itself today. Perhaps one day, the United States will be defeated by the Japanese, which is often history.

Second, the Japanese Self-Defense Force, which cannot be underestimated, has been bound by the peace constitution since the war, and the Japanese government has indicated that it will not be a military power that threatens other countries. The Japanese Self-Defense Forces are only the armed forces used when Japan is threatened. However, in recent years, the development of Japan's Self-Defense Forces and its military performance have attracted the attention of the world, especially Asian countries. With the enhancement of Japan's economic level and scientific and technological strength, it began to explore the leap from an economic power to a political and military power.

The Japanese Self-Defense Force was established by the United States during the Cold War to fight against China. The size requirement at that time was 25,000. Its purpose is also to "maintain a good social order and not give a few lawless elements an opportunity." As we all know, the result is that Japan has embarked on the invisible road of expanding its army and preparing for war. With its strong economic and scientific strength, under the umbrella of the US military, the scale and quality of Japan's self-defense have been advancing by leaps and bounds, which has not attracted people's attention in the cold war environment. However, when the Japanese minesweeper sailed to the bay; When Japan's defense budget exceeds the limit of 1% GNP; When the Japanese parliament forcibly passed PKO (United Nations Peace Cooperation Plan), the world became alert. As we all know, what will a nation with a deep sense of aggressive culture bring to mankind with world-class armed forces? At this point, the United States is particularly firm. Today, Americans still "ignite the war in Pearl Harbor" from time to time. Since the mid-1980s, the economic dependence of East Asian countries on the United States has declined, while the dependence on Japan has increased. In addition, in recent years, the United States has been claiming to withdraw its troops from Asia, and its influence in Asia tends to weaken, replaced by Japan, which the United States does not want to see. 1991September, when Baker visited Japan, he claimed that the responsibility of the United States for security and stability in Asia was overwhelming, and the determination of the United States to participate in Asia was unshakable and beyond doubt. This remark is not only a kind of appeasement by the United States to countries in Asia that want the United States to exist in Asia, but also a warning to Japan, sending a message to Japan: the United States will not hand over its leading position in Asia to Japan, and the United States hopes that Japan will play an economic role in Asia, not a military role. During Bush's visit to Japan, he was indifferent to the United Nations Peacekeeping Cooperation Act, which Japan sought to send troops overseas, which surprised the Liberal Democratic Party. This shows that the United States has changed its attitude of hoping that Japan will play a certain military role in the Gulf War. The United States is worried that the emergence of any permanent peacekeeping force in Asia will reduce the role of American military forces in disputes, especially for Japan. However, with the decline of American economic strength, former Singaporean Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew predicted that with the weakening of American military power in Asia, it is inevitable for Japan to play a military role in Asia, and Japan, which is bent on becoming a military power, will not give up its efforts.

By the beginning of 1998, Japan's military strength was as follows: 235,600 active troops (including 1300 Joint Chiefs of Staff). Army: about 147700 men,10 tanks, 50 infantry fighting vehicles, 900 armored personnel carriers, 490 towed artillery pieces, 365438 self-propelled artillery pieces, 100 multi-barrel rockets and 680 anti-tank missiles. Navy: 42,500 people (including naval aviation), submarines 18, 58 main warships, naval aviation120,000, combat aircraft165,438, and 98 armed helicopters; Air force: 44 1 10,000 people, 368 combat aircraft and 46,700 active troops.

However, the expansion of Japan's military strength mainly reflects not quantity, but quality. The high-tech and modernization of Japanese Self-Defense Forces' weapons and equipment are second to none in the world. As far as the weapons and equipment currently possessed by the armed forces are concerned, the Ground Self-Defense Forces began to equip all soldiers below the field level with the latest Type 89 automatic rifles, and now 24 sets of Patriot surface-to-air missiles have been deployed. A new type of anti-chemical vehicle has been equipped. It is said that this anti-chemical vehicle will not even be made in the United States. The Maritime Self-Defense Force has deployed 16 "Ruo Super" latest and most advanced conventional power submarine; A ship named "Cosmic Shield" was deployed in sasebo near Nagasaki Prefecture, China.

Destroyer. Japan plans to deploy three more ships. The destroyer Cosmic Shield is the most advanced destroyer in the world at present. It not only has the ability to sail 6000 kilometers continuously, but also has the most advanced radar system and powerful attack capability. The ship is equipped with phased array radar, which can automatically track more than 200 targets within 400 kilometers, automatically detect, track and guide aviation and ship-borne missiles, and can strike dozens of targets at the same time.

Japan's destroyer fleet is second to none in Asia, with the largest mine-clearing capacity in the world and the third place in anti-submarine warfare after the United States and Russia. Its Air Self-Defense Force already has 100 anti-submarine patrol aircraft, with the purpose of "defending the lifeline of Japan-1000 nautical mile maritime traffic line"; Automatic alarm control systems have been deployed in 28 air defense monitoring stations across the country; It already has 160 F- 15 fighters, the number of which is second only to that of the United States. It is planned to introduce aerial tankers, and the next generation fighter FSX, which is being developed and partially equipped, is a great surprise for the United States, because it is recognized as the most advanced fighter in the world, equipped with the most advanced equipment, with strong air superiority and combat capability, and its performance is far better than that of F- 15 and F- 16 fighters.

At the same time, in recent years, in view of its strong applied technology and weak basic research, Japan has once again implemented the strategy of building the country through science and technology, requiring the research and development focus of national scientific research institutions to shift from applied technology to basic science and technology, and has taken three measures to this end: First, it has established a system to promote invention and creation. Japan believes that in order to promote the creativity of scientific researchers, it is necessary to reform the old rules and regulations and establish a new system to encourage invention and creation. First, strengthen the exchange of scientific research results and speed up the flow of personnel. Japan's relevant ministries and institutions have established various exchange systems to promote exchanges between national scientific research institutions, universities and industries and create good external conditions for the exchange of scientific and technological personnel. Second, we should select talents in an eclectic way, boldly promote young and promising researchers and provide them with more development opportunities. While trying to cultivate a new generation of scientific and technological talents, we should improve the treatment of scientific researchers, ensure the stability of senior scientific researchers, realize the reasonable rejuvenation of the scientific research personnel structure, maintain the vitality of scientific researchers and promote the vitality of invention and creation. Third, establish a "science center" (CEO). Based on Japan's original scientific research institutions, it recruits accomplished and authoritative researchers from abroad to conduct scientific research, ensuring that the science center has the best researchers, the latest scientific research information, the most perfect scientific research facilities and the most substantial sources of funds. Only in this way can we ensure that we can develop the advantages of the group in a specific research field and make scientific research reach the advanced level in the world. The second is to increase investment in scientific research and strengthen basic research. The ability of scientific research and development depends largely on the accumulation of knowledge and technology formed by scientific research and development investment and the foundation of scientific research and development. Increasing investment in scientific research is Japan's move from "imitation of science and technology"

Since 1980s, Japan has continuously increased its investment in scientific research, which has effectively promoted the development of science and technology. 1990, Japan's national scientific research funds totaled 13.7 trillion yen, accounting for 2.9% of the gross national product.

On the one hand, the Japanese government realizes the growth plan of scientific research funds according to the national conditions, on the other hand, it formulates relevant policies to promote private enterprises to invest in basic scientific research. The third is to improve scientific research facilities and enhance the stamina of scientific research. In order to meet the needs of the development of scientific research in the direction of cutting-edge science and large-scale, the Japanese government decided to improve the scientific research infrastructure and main equipment, improve the scientific research environment and conditions, and enhance the stamina. The first is to update the research facilities of universities, national research institutions and special legal persons in a planned way, and open these research facilities to relevant researchers at home and abroad to promote the effective use of scientific research facilities. 1990, Japan promulgated the Basic Methods for Perfecting and Revitalizing the Foundation of Science and Technology, requiring relevant ministries and agencies to enrich scientific research materials and improve the scientific research conditions of universities and national scientific research institutions. In the field of special scientific research, there should be not only perfect scientific research equipment, but also complete scientific research resources. These measures not only make up for Japan's weak links in science and technology, but also will surely achieve another leap in its military technology. Therefore, in the high-tech war of 2 1 world, it is hard to predict who will win or lose the war between Japan and the United States.

As far as modernization and high technology are concerned, Japan's Self-Defense Force has become one of the best powerful military forces, and Japan can be described as a military power. Due to the fundamental changes in the form of war, war is increasingly manifested as a contest between science and technology, and quality is increasingly becoming a decisive force and an important factor in determining the outcome of war. For example, the hit rate of precision guided missiles is 120 times that of ordinary ammunition, and the combat effectiveness of fighters equipped with advanced electronics and fire control systems is 40 times that of the original fighters. In the Gulf War, the precision-guided ammunition launched by the US military only accounted for 8% of the launch volume, but it destroyed more than 80% of the important targets. According to experts, the combat effectiveness of a US tank division is equivalent to that of eight tank divisions in some third world countries. Before the Gulf War, the comparison between the Iraqi army and the multinational forces was 16: 1, but the result was that the casualties of the Iraqi army were 100 times that of the multinational forces, and more than 60% of the casualties of the multinational forces were caused by their own accidental injuries. It can be seen that the Japanese Self-Defense Force equipped with high-tech weapons and equipment is a combat force that cannot be underestimated, and its future will directly affect the Asia-Pacific region.

Third, seeking the status of a military and political power Japan seeks the status of a political power with its strong economic strength, and further competes with the United States for the dominance of the world and the Asia-Pacific region. It is Japan's strategic goal to move from an economic power to a military and political power, thus becoming a decisive pole in the multipolar world pattern.

The opportunity has finally come-the declaration that economic powers are moving towards military and political powers. The great changes in Eastern Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet socialist countries have broken the deadlock of the Cold War for decades, and the western world is immersed in a "happy" atmosphere. Japan, on the other hand, seems calm and abnormal. Facing the new development trend of the world, Japan has other plans, and what position it will occupy in the future world structure is the primary issue for its thinking. As far as Japan is concerned, after World War II, it can be described as "bearing the burden of humiliation" and "lying in the heart and savoring courage" for decades. Why do you want to be an "economic power, political Confucianism" country? Why is it still "first-class economy and second-class politics" in the eyes of the world? When the Soviet Union was teetering, Japanese Prime Minister Junshu Haibei put forward in his letter to Bush on 19901October 9 that "Europe, America and Japan should be the leading factors in the formation of a new world order". Then, before his visit to the United States on March 2 of the same year, he delivered a speech in Congress, which translated this intention of Japan into action.

The new international order proposed by the Ministry of Ocean Affairs in Congress should achieve five goals, namely: 1, ensuring peace and security; 2. Respect for freedom and democracy; 3. Ensure the stability and prosperity of the world through an open market economy; 4. Protect the environment; 5. Stabilize the international order on the basis of dialogue and cooperation. In July of the same year, he comprehensively expounded the Japanese government's understanding of the changes in the international pattern and the idea of building an international order in the past two years in the article "Ideas for Japan". People can clearly see what kind of new international order Japan wants to establish, what role Japan should play in this new order, and how to play its role.

After more than 20 years of sustained high-speed economic development, by the 1980s, Japan had become the second economic superpower in the world after the United States. From 65438 to 0989, Japan's gross national product reached more than 3 trillion US dollars, accounting for 15% of the world, its trade volume was 485.9 billion US dollars, accounting for 9.3% of the world, its trade surplus and foreign exchange reserves both exceeded 70 billion US dollars, and its overseas net assets were 350 billion US dollars. Japan has become the world's largest creditor and foreign economic aid country. With the rapid development of Japan's economy and technology, Japan is no longer willing to be just an "economic giant, political Linde". As early as 1983, former Prime Minister Nakasone put forward the strategic goal of "political final accounts after the war" for the first time, making Japan a political power. During the second oil crisis, Nakasone proposed to send Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force to defend the offshore oil passage. Since then, many prime ministers have proposed that Japan should "play a political role commensurate with its economic strength in the world." So what kind of political role do they want to play? In the words of the Ministry of the Sea, "As long as military power plays a decisive role in the international order, the contribution that a non-military country like Japan can make is naturally limited." Obviously, Japanese leaders believe that "modern dialogue and cooperation have replaced missiles and tanks as tools to establish order, and Japan is organic."