A Judge Says No

Article Nine of the constitution that the U.S. military government imposed on Japan in 1946 states clearly that "land, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained." Despite that stern injunction -and persistent criticism from left-wing groups -Japan's self-defense forces have been gradually built up to a strength of nearly 260,000 men. Now, a judge has ruled that the forces are unconstitutional.

The ruling, by Sapporo District Court Judge Shigeo Fukushima, came in response to a suit brought by a group of farmers who challenged the government's release of some state forest preserve for the construction of a Nike missile base. The government has vowed to appeal; civil procedures being slow in Japan, it could take anywhere from two to six years before the Supreme Court decides the case.

The ruling will not take effect unless the government's attempt to reverse it fails -an unlikely prospect at best. In the meantime, the decision will have an adverse effect on recruitment and morale of the self-defense forces. The decision also creates a problem for the government involving recently reacquired Okinawa, where 4,840 men have been stationed in anticipation of approval by the Diet of a bill authorizing a new defense command on the island. But the Sapporo ruling, has put a new obstacle in the path of this legislation. Now Premier Kakuei Tanaka cannot withdraw the men without violating the obligations undertaken in the U.S.-Japan reversion agreement. And he cannot keep them there without arousing howls of protest from the Socialists and Communists in the Diet.

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