Japan wants a more lethal navy. Since World War ii, the Japanese military has operated under a constitution that renounces war as a sovereign right and limits the use of force to a strictly defensive capacity. Now that pirates are harassing cargo ships off the coast of Somalia, however, the Japanese government wants to pass a bill to allow its naval forces to take a more aggressive role in world affairs.

Current Japanese laws mandate that Tokyo’s self-defense forces only protect Japanese ships or foreign ships with Japanese citizens on board. These laws also mandate that Japanese sailors only fight pirates who attack them first. Japan must not initiate an attack with the purpose of inflicting damage on a pirate ship.

A new bill that Japan’s ruling coalition plans to introduce to the Diet would eliminate these stipulations. This proposed legislation would allow the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force to aggressively fight against pirates anywhere in the world, whether they are attacking Japanese vessels or not. It would also give the Japanese Defense Ministry the authority to dispatch naval forces without asking permission from the Diet.

Japan is evolving away from its pacifist constitution and taking on a much more aggressive military role on the world scene.

Japan spends over $40 billion a year on defense, which has bought it one of the largest and most technologically advanced militaries on Earth. This means that as Tokyo continues to sideline its pacifist constitution, its defense force could quickly evolve into one of the deadliest forces on Earth. Critics of this military transformation say that Japan has already violated its constitution, taking on unprecedented offensive capabilities.

For more information on the future of the Japanese military in world affairs, read “Japan’s Place in the Future.”