Japan abjures militarism

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32589, 24 April 1971, Page 23

Japan abjures militarism

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) LONDON, April 22. The 'Japanese Government was determined that it would not embark on a policy of militarism in Asia because it was against the country’s national interest, the Foreign Minister, Mr Kiichi Aichi, said in London last week.

He gave this declaration in a special report published yesterday in the "Guardian” newspaper in reply to speculation that Japan would move in to fill the power vacuum left in Asia by a decreasing United States and British commitment. Mr Aichi’s statement of Japan’s official foreign policy said that as long as the United States and Britain continued to stand by their security commitments abroad there would be no power vacuum nor would there be any necessity for Japan to acquire an excessive military capacity.

“We are determined not to embark upon the perilous road towards militarism because we find it in our national interest not to do so,” he said. The Foreign Minister said that the Japanese had become more convinced than ever that the pursuit of a narrow egoistic interest could in no way ensure peace and prosperity. Only through international co-operation could Japan achieve progress, since the country’s progress depended on the progress of the world. In a plea for freer world trade, Mr Aichi referred to Britain’s application to join the Common Market and said that he hoped the principles of free trade which Britain had traditionally advocated would exert a favourable influence on an enlarged E.E.C. The six-page report dealt with Japanese industrial development, trade, the role of women, the influence of youth and the tourist industry.