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(回答先: 日本：戦争と平和、そして、憲法 (France 24 English、2014年8月6日発表の記事) 投稿者 無段活用 日時 2014 年 10 月 03 日 18:01:28)
(Japan: War, Peace and the Constitution: FRANCE 24 English)
http://www.france24.com/en/20140806-focus-japan-constitution-war-pacifism-veteran-peace-abe-hiroshima-anniversary/
history - Japan - peace
Latest update : 2014-08-06
Japan: War, Peace and the Constitution
JAPAN - Japan: War, Peace and the Constitution 投稿者 france24english
After the devastation of World War II, Japan chose a path of peace by drafting a constitution renouncing war and military forces. But now, the country seems to be stepping away from that post-war pacifism, with Prime Minister Abe's plan to remove some constitutional constraints in order to allow Japanese troops to fight overseas. But what do people who have gone through the war have to say? We follow a former imperial navy pilot who tells us about his war experiences and thoughts on peace.
Programme prepared by Elise Duffau and Patrick Lovett.
Yuka ROYER , Guillaume BRESSION
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(Dictation)
(Presenter)
.... the 69th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Tens of thousands of people observed a minute's silence in the city's Peace Park near the epicenter of the attack in which up to 140,000 people were killed. As the only country to face nuclear bombings, said the prime minister, Japan has a duty to endeavor to eliminate nuclear weapons. Shinzo Abe's comments came as Japan is divided over his recent decision to allow the military to fight overseas.
France24's Yuka Royer has met a former Imperial Navy pilot who shares his experience with soldiers who might now have to go into combat.
(Narration)
Clear for take off. For Jun Takahashi, the sky is like a second home. He's been flying almost all his life logging more than 25,000 hours of flight time.
(Jun Takahashi, former Imperial Japanese Navy pilot)
You're ready to have some fun?
(Narration)
At 91, Takahashi still flies regularly as a tour pilot and an instructor at this airfield.
(A trainee)
He gives us a sense of security just by being there.
(Another trainee)
Jun-san seems to stop aging when he is flying.
(Narration)
Fascinated by aeroplanes from a young age, Takahashi joins the Imperial Japanese Navy when he was 18 to become a pilot. That was in 1941, just a few months before the Japanese attacked the US naval base at the Pearl Harbour, opening the Pacific theatre in World War II. As captain of a Mitsubishi bomber G4M Betty, Takahashi took part in some of the fiercest air battles during the final years of the war.
(Jun Takahashi)
When we were first sent to the south Pacific, we were a whole fleet of about 40 planes. In less than a year after fighting in New Guinea and Saipan, we were down to just two, mine and one other aircraft were all that left.
(Narration)
At that time when dying in combat to defend the emperor was considered the highest honour for a Japanese soldier, Takahashi's focus was on surviving.
(Jun Takahashi)
If I was hit, I would have tried to clash into an enemy ship. But I was a captain of a large aircraft with four or five crew members. I was determined to keep my men and myself alive.
(Narration)
Towards the end of the war, the navy was desperate. Sending kamikaze pilots on often ineffective suicide missions. Takahashi's name got on the list, too. But the war ended before he receives the ultimate order.
(Jun Takahashi)
To be really honest, all I felt I was relief. Who all were glad that the war had ended, in within have to die.
(Narration)
After losing some three million lives, Japan embarked on a path of peace. The new constitution drafted under US occupation, became the cornerstone of the nation's postwar identity. The most prominent article nine renounces war as a means of settling disputes and disallows possession of armed forces. Seven decades on, that pacifist order is about to change.
(Shinzo Abe, Japanese Prime Minister)
Being fully prepared to deal with any situation, we will strengthen our ability to deter any attempt to wage war on Japan.
(Narration)
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to ease the constitutional restraints to expand Tokyo's military involvement in global conflicts. Japan has highly trained and well-equipped self-defense forces, but their international role has been limited to non-combat operations. The new legislation with them enables to fight overseas in the name of collective self-defense.
The move has proven unpopular. The public isn't convinced by Abe's reassurances that there still be tight constraints on the use of force. Many are angry at the Prime Minister's attempt to reinterpret the constitution rather than revising it through a national referendum.
(Jeff Kingston, Director of Asian Studies, Temple University, Japan )
... and he's seen by the public to be like a thief in the night, sneaking in the back door, and stealing the heart and soul of the constitution.
(Narration)
A few days after the government's announcement, Jun Takahashi was at the naval base near Tokyo to give young marines a first-hand account of the war. No one in uniform today has any combat experience. But for these soldiers, fighting a war could now become a reality.
(Jun Takahashi)
You should never be a war. But if Japan comes under attack, it's up to you to protect the country, and you should do so with pride and dignity. During the war I was proud to defend my country and you should be as well.
(Narration)
The Yasukuni shrine in the heart of Tokyo. It's four-day summer festival held in tribute to the war-dead, attracts around three hundred thousand people every year. The site is controversial as it also honours convicted war criminals, but for Jun Takahashi, it's a place to pray for his friends.
(Jun Takahashi)
It's thanks to my coleagues who are all honoured here that I can continue to fly today. I feel they are still protecting me. I come here to pray that they rest in peace and to thank them.
(Narration)
69 years since his last air battle, Takahashi is still flying high. He reasoned to the enter of the guiness book of world records as the oldest active commercial pilot.
(Jun Takahashi)
I hope I can continue flying for a bit. I don't know how much longer. Well you know, wouldn't it be a fun to have an one-hundred-old pilot?
(Narration)
This guy has no limit, when there aren't any bullet flying around. The World War II veteran hopes these skies never be darkend by bombs again.
(Presenter)
That's it for me from now and do stay tuned to France24.
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