Statement by the President of the Hyogo Bar Association Against Possession of "Counterattack Capability"
Statement
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1 Introduction
　　On August 25, 2023, the Hyogo Bar Association, to which all of our lawyers belong, issued a "Chairman's Statement Against Possession of 'Counterattack Capability'".

https://www.hyogoben.or.jp/news/topics/15702/

　We hope that this statement will be widely known to all citizens who love and desire peace.

2 Main Points of the Chairman's Statement
(1) Purpose of the Statement
　　　The Chairman's Statement opposes the possession of "counterattack capability," which was specified in the three security documents approved by the Cabinet on December 16, 2022, and calls for its withdrawal.

(2) These are the "Three Security Documents.　
　　　(1) The National Security Strategy, which is a guideline for diplomacy and defense
　　　(2) The "National Defense Strategy," which lays out the goals of defense and how to achieve them
　　　(3) "Defense Force Development Plan," which outlines the structure of the Self-Defense Forces and the total amount of expenses over a five-year period.

(3) These are the three security documents.
　i Positioning of the Documents
　　First, it is important to keep in mind that these are not "draft laws" but "administrative documents.
　　　In the case of a draft law, after it is approved by the Cabinet, it is debated in the Diet, and the public is informed through multifaceted discussions on how the enforcement of the law may affect the lives of the people.

　ii Contents of the documents
　　　In these documents, a sense of crisis was emphasized that Japan is "in the midst of the most severe and complicated security environment in the postwar period," and it was stated that Japan will drastically strengthen its defense capabilities to cope with such a security environment and that Japan will possess a "counterattack capability" to directly attack an opponent in its territory.　　　The document also includes a defense budget of 43 trillion yen for the five years beginning in FY2023, more than 1.5 times the amount of the current plan.

(4) What is wrong with the three security documents?
　i. The content of "counterattack capability
　　　Counterattack capability" is a broader concept than "enemy base attack capability," and is not limited to "enemy bases. In addition, the counterattack capability can be exercised even before the attack is actually launched, as long as the other party has "launched" the attack. If the "launch" of a counterattack is misjudged, it could be a preemptive strike in violation of international law.
　(2) It is extremely problematic that such a national decision, which involves a major change in the conventional interpretation of the pacifism of the Constitution and the expenditure of a huge national budget, was made only at a Cabinet meeting, without any debate in the Diet.

(5) What can we do?
　　　First of all, we would like to make people widely aware of the contents and problems of the three Security Treaty documents, and the fact that they are not draft laws, but have already been finalized without any debate in the Diet, and are driving the organization and finances of our country.
　　　Let us then raise public opinion that our country is absolutely opposed to the exercise of the "counterattack capability" that could make us a party to war.
The preamble of the Japanese Constitution states, "We, the people of Japan, ... determined to ensure that the horrors of war will never again occur through the actions of our government, do hereby declare that sovereignty resides with the people, and do establish this Constitution. Let us spread our sovereign resolve like a swell to contain the "Counterattack Capability".　　　
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)