Foreign student (hereinafter FS): I heard that article nine of the Japanese constitution prohibits war. What does it say exactly? Teacher (hereinafter T): Article nine is written as follows: “Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.” And, it continues as follows: “In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.” FS: But, in fact Japan has an army. T: That’s not an army, but a self-defense force. For several years after the constitution was enacted, the possession of a self-defense force was regarded as unconstitutional, but later the interpretation became that having a force to defend the country did not contravene the constitution. FS: Is it possible to change the interpretation of the constitution? T: This constitution was made by the USA, which was victorious over Japan after a war that demanded great sacrifices. Made with the intention of not allowing Japan to rearm, it was nevertheless the ultimate pacifist constitution. Later the Korean War broke out and the Cold War between the East and West began. The USA wanted Japan to be a Western military base to stand against the East, and the US-Japan security pact was concluded. In response to the rise of the Chinese military in recent years, the Japanese government has begun to say that even collective defense with the USA is allowed under the present constitution. FS: Does strengthening the military really work as a deterrent? This is essentially the same as keeping a gun. The American constitution allows individuals to possess a gun in order to protect themselves. FS: It is difficult to reduce guns and weapons once they are already widespread. T: But one man was able to implement restrictions. This was TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi who unified Japan for the first time. At that time most soldiers were farmers. In order to improve agricultural production and prevent riots from breaking out, Hideyoshi planned to separate soldiers from farmers, and in 1588 gave “the sword hunt order” to collect up swords from farmers. FS: I can imagine that the farmers strongly resisted the removal of the weapons they needed to protect themselves with. T: At that time the great statue of Buddha in Nara had been lost in a fire. So, Hideyoshi explained to the farmers that he needed their cooperation to build a great Buddha in Kyoto, which would be larger than Nara’s statue. Since the religion of the farmers was mainly Buddhism, they believed that they would gain a divine blessing if their swords were used for the construction of a Buddha and voluntarily cooperated. Before this, Hideyoshi pressured Koyasan, which was a large religious force at the time, to cooperate. As Koyasan complied, he made it known throughout the nation that Koyasan had voluntarily cooperated. In this way Hideyoshi’s strategy was successful, and as a result it created the foundations for public order.