The LDP is said to be plotting to introduce conscription to Japan, along with the necessary constitutional amendments to allow it.
The LDP is reportedly considering introducing general conscription to Japan based on a “civic duty” rubric, as used in Germany and elsewhere:
“It is necessary to further consider the matter of the people’s connection to the army and the meaning of obligating military service in a democratic nation.”
Direct mention of conscription is avoided in favour of opaque euphemism.
Japan’s military is massively constrained by the US authored pacifist constitution the nation has had since being crushed in World War II; indeed the nation technically has no army at all.
A constitutional amendment would be required to introduce conscription, which requires a national referendum amongst other legal and legislative hurdles – the LDP has long been interested in passing such an amendment, and apparently intends to announce an amendment plan in May.
Leaving aside the illiberal nature of a government enforcing military service, or how profoundly unpopular such a policy would be, the practical aspects of such a policy seem ill thought out at best – modern militaries demand highly trained and motivated specialists, usually associated with professional career soldiers.
Additionally, flooding Japan’s tiny military with school leavers would likely do nothing but exacerbate the pension time bomb Japan is singularly failing to defuse – spending money to delay young people’s entry into the labour market through unproductive trench digging and further disrupting their ability to form families with banishment to barracks seem unlikely to help.
Such questions are however academic – it seems actually getting such an amendment past the Japanese public in a vote would be challenging at the very least, and the chances of a party actually getting into power with such a policy seems even more remote.
2ch is unsparing:
Impossible!
You’ll never get that kind of thing through!
What’s the point of this? It’ll cost a fortune.
You’ll never get back into office with that.
This is insanity. If this got through I’d seriously consider emigrating.
The LDP are crazy too. I can hear jackboots.
There isn’t even an army so what’re they thinking of doing with all those militiamen?
The LDP’s turned into a cult.
They not got enough SDF recruits?
I recall there were several times more applicants than places…
The US wouldn’t stand by and let them go through with that.
The US’d welcome the extra pawns.
This is right. Hurry up and put the unemployed in the army.
The LDP have gone absolutely insane.
I’m a NEET but I’m the eldest son so they’d let me off, right?
I’m ill so I can’t go.
My eyesight is really bad, I can’t go either.
Why are they making something requiring specialist technical knowledge into a ‘duty’? The global trend is away from conscription…
Those worthless old people are just yammering “young people today don’t have any guts” again.
This is no good. Even if they really want to pass it, announcing it like this is crazy.
They sound as if they want to have us fight another Asian nation…
Marvellous – finally I can fight and die magnificently for the sake of our great nation – my heart burns!
You dirty otaku needn’t worry as you’d be rejected for having bad eyesight.
Get lost! I’d sooner die than serve! You can be sure the children of the rich and powerful will get out of it or be given easy work.
If they don’t brainwash people from childhood, how do they expect this to work? They think the youth of Japan would obey after all these years?
Idiots – human wave tactics in this day and age. Quality over quantity, and huge amounts of money are required, you fools.
Rearmament plans are in, now hurry up with the nuclear arsenal already!
As expected they take no notice of public opinion, they’re digging their own graves.
Just who are the LDP fighting?
You guys needn’t worry, it’s the elementary schoolers who are going to get shafted.
They should conscript the old guys too – make sure sending those crazy old fool politicians to the front lines is the number one priority.
This is probably how they intend to fix their shortage of caregivers for old people.
Stop it. You’ll only increase suicides even more.
Impossible. This’d just be like being told to die by America. No different from that messed up Empire we had.
This country’s had it. I never imagined we’d end up with politicians this stupid.
The LDP are a bunch of geriatrics you know. Wherever you are, war is just the elderly sending the young to the battlefield.
Update: The politician quoted has hurriedly denied the LDP plans any conscription, saying that “we were only interested in looking at the situation in other countries, and have no plans to implement it here.”
This of course leaves open the question of why they would want to be considering such systems if they had no plans of implementing it…
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Carpal Tunnel syndrome is apparently a legitimate excuse to skip the draft. FAP LIKE CRAZY, EXSCAPE DRAFT.
Suuure, let's go through Showa militarism all over again! Next thing you'll know the JSDF will invade South Korea
better yet North Korea
Imagine an all otaku army.
They'd wipe themselves out over who gets to be what character.
General Take...
GRIFFITHS
What?
I told you to adress me by my rank
Sir General of the Godhand Griffiths?
That's better.
Alright...Sir General of the Godhand Griffiths, Lieutenant Ya...
If you don't call him Lieutenant Char Aznable the Red Comet, I will have you spanked
I thought the usual punishment was...
SPANKED! DO YOU HEAR ME SOLDIER!? SPANKED!
Soldier 1: It sucks that our generals a crazy fucking otaku, why'd they let them into the army anyway?
Soldier 2: They offered every otaku a loli or a shota trap
Soldier 1: Seriously?
Soldier 2: General t...Griffiths slew over 500 men with his bare hands in order to get his harem of traps, Char took an entire city on his own in cardboard armor shouting "I'm a mobile suit, I'm a mobile suit, Red makes me go faster!" Those crazy fucks are the backbone of our army!
I wonder if this has anything to do with the consideration of closing the US marine airbase in Okinawa. Removal of some of the US military presence in Japan has them worried? I dare say they shouldn't with a fairly strong Naval presence even as a Defense Force and plenty of US bases still active.
Plus I like this response:
"I’m a NEET but I’m the eldest son so they’d let me off, right?"
It is economically inefficient for japan to support NEETS, they're better off with conscription
Not a good idea for Japan. Though, in polite response to one of the 2ch comments, it's "Rich and Powerful" would likely be one of the few countries left to force them into military service, like England where the remaining nobility are technically "Knights".
But, not a good idea... The only real 'enemies' Japan might face that'd threaten it in it's own borders are N. Korea and a more remote possibility of China. N. Korea isn't a threat as long as the USA is there to wipe them out if they go all out war on the south. In any case, such an action would burn itself out on S. Korea, likely creating a "Cambodia". China would wipe them off the map, no contest. But, as long as they always vocalize their displeasure when some (equivalent to USA Neo Nazi) creep makes a "Pro Nanking assault" Manga, no real danger.
So, they are better off just finding a technical solution. Have "Technological Defense" funding where some of their science guys work on maybe making the "Energy Shield" go from Sci-Fi to RL instead of the "Sea Angel Egg" project;-) That way they are protected in case N. Korea makes a 1/2 Hiroshima powered nuke and launches it at the USA in an act of lunacy, and the missile breaks apart and drops over Japan. Also, I bet they could work out some very neat "Powered Armor" suits!
as soon as i see the name "barbarian of gay" and a wall of nonsense.
i skip to the next comments, after writing this.
Conscription in a country which has a history of World War crime is not a good idea.
Conscription might increase the size of the standing army but it also would greatly reduce the over all quality of individual units.
A modern military depends far more on technology and skilled individuals then sheer manpower.
You can't have a good military with only 1 year service terms it takes a year just to get properly trained on equipment and be taught tactics.
If they are paranoid they could be caught under manned in a time of national emergency then institute selective service.
If an emergency happens you go round up the names of every abled bodied man aged 18 to 25 and put them in a big fish bowel and draw random names.
The oldest will be placed in the lottery first such as 25,24,23,22,21 in that order.
Germany has an army too, so where is the problem. Maybe the problem is that Germans are now only loosers :( after some time Germany will be probably ruled by women and gays.
Germans have fully apologized for their past crimes. Japanese? sort of. Besides, Japanese people are not as trust worthy as Germans. Look at Pearl Harbor Jap-attack. They are bunch of pussies who attack a nation without declaring war.
...that's called Blitzkrieg. And Germany is only an American puppet now.
If that is my commanding officer then sign me up.
金だけ出してアメリカに守ってもらうのは、"同盟"では
無くて、"用心棒"だよな。金じゃ血の代わりにならない
からな。DPJのアメリカ離れは、見方によっては"用心棒"
から"同盟"になる為の絶好の機会になるかもしれないな。
近年の自衛隊の海外での活動や、LDPの徴兵制の検討も、
その為の下準備かも知れないね。
I did some reading up on the LDP they ruled pretty much unopposed for 54 years and I feel the party is highly corrupted and no longer acts in their people's best interest.
Conscripts are less relevant in a modern military then they were in WWII.
A modern military depends far more on technology and skilled individuals then sheer man power.
Conscription would reduce the over all quality of JDF forces even though it would increase their numbers over the JDF would be much weaker as a result.
Worst case institute a selective service for times of emergency.
There is an economical side to this.. they take the unemployed (there are some employed hikkos) and conscript them, they'd need to be paid which the LDP will find some way to tax and at the same time relieve the social programs (if Japan has one).
But then again after their service terms they'd become eligible for years of social benefits again.
They wanna whip all of those lazy Hikki-whatever-dudes (the shut ins) into shape and give them jobs.
Yeah! Everyone prepare for World War 3... The whole world wants to do military training. What for war?
Instead of conscription they should give jobs and job training.
Humans... They are marching to their doom.
America really did a bad job cleaning up.
Still reeks of Imperial Japanese thoughts.
Fucking rightist scum...
I have nothing against capitalists by the way.
The more Japan is flooded by neets, hikikomori and otaku, the more it is restrained on a military level.
I'm all thumbs up for Japan to finally establish a military force and show the US corps to the exit.
But of course, I don't want that to affect my precious Anime T-T
However, obviously Anime Nation != Military Nation, but maybe they'll be able to find a compromise
I'd only sign in if the barracks are mixed genders.
screw conscription. JUST DEVELOP THOSE BIPED ROBOT SUITS FASTER ALREADY!!!
Japan doesn't need a military. Nor does Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, Portugal, or any country that isn't in any threat of being attacked.
Scotland was attacked by terrorists in 2007.
i believe Anon is correct, but Scotland wasn't 'invaded' by another nation.
Rearmament and Conscription are necessary as most people in Asia have no idea upon how to fire a real gun.
This sounds stupid to me, why not just increase the salary these guys are paid to motivate people to join?
no fair i wanna pilot 00-raiser too
I think this is the funniest post: You dirty otaku needn’t worry as you’d be rejected for having bad eyesight.
The LDP will take the unemployed and give them a job in the army, they'd be paid and taxed and at the same time relieve the welfare programs. Of course those conscripts would opt out at the end of their term and become eligible for the programs again. They may choose to stay as reserves and get tax benefits.
seems to me the best bet would be training videogame NEETS to operate predator drones. So they just have to report to work or telecommute and bomb the proverbial harbor.
I believe this is the right thing to do, quite frankly I think the Japanese people have become a docile race.
they do have threats.
no as catastrophic or scary as North and South Korea though, South Korea are intimidating North Korea yet North Korea has condemned a third of Japan to death.
time to plea to the Russian Army
fuck yeah kill'em all
Well that's something you can do to all the NEETs and Hikikomori. Draft them.
Boot camp might do them a little good.
All in all, this would be an excellent idea given certain social problems they are facing. A mandatory period of social interaction that focuses on teamwork could be a substantial benefit for there country.
"You guys needn’t worry, it’s the elementary schoolers who are going to get shafted."
I like the way this guy thinks.
Conscription sucks. If those people are well protected by alliances, then good for them.
Forcing military into citizens should not be humanly allowed unless there is a direct and present danger to the nation.
When was the last time Japan had conscription?
... Really? Well...
Someone call the US Air Force. Time to increase the air patrols at Pearl Harbor.
maybe, a new Shogonate will appear, better prepare for living in the Sengoku period again. now where's my history book again...
Singapore has compulsory conscription and we have the shittiest army in the world. No one gives a crap about doing their job and it takes us 2 hours to unlock the gate.
Compulsory military service doesn't work dumbnuts.
Well finally, Japan is finally getting with the program with it's East Asian brothers. Personally, I think they should start with the NEET 25-30 year olds, and have them serve a minimum 1-2 years, while everyone 18 and under 25 should do a required 2-3 years like in Korea or China.
They should just recruit young witches around the world and make them wear panties...
<3
I love you.
LOL already making excuses why they can't go. Theres also conscription where I live, that's why I'm not planning to stay long. :P
maybe Japan is using VR training so that they know war=game and someone some person called Jack will be the top soldier and will have its gene use to crreate 3 clones and the project is called Les Enfants Terribles???
Haha, I've long thought this actually. Japanese young people are so spoiled, lazy, and don't know anything but peace, which is called "heiwa-boke" (becoming stupid from too much peace). Of course it ain't happening so it doesn't matter.
anon MAH BOIII, this peace is what all true warriors strive for!
You speak as if peace is a bad thing.
Let nature take it's course. If spoiled and lazy men are what works, then why try to counteract it?
It's not like this world can take any more macro scale wars anyway. It's either peace or annihilation from now on.
Correction: peace unless you are attacked or annihilation.
There's similar thing in my country where men are forced to choose between 6-12months of military training or 12 months of civil service.
I went trough the 6 month military training or conscription (whatever its called in English) and at the beginning it was quite huge cultural shock (they are pretty much taking most of your freedom for 6 months) but in the end it was a really good experience, I did and experienced many things that most people in the world will ever get the chance to.
Personally I think its a good thing that our country has conscription, but making the conscription period too long (more than 12 months) is too much for many.
It would certainly get those lazy ass hikikkomories to get dragged in to conscription/civil service by the Police ( or commit suicide).
One of the arguments against conscription vs long term soldiers is the fact a guy with only 6 months training will probably end up dead very quickly if he ever found himself on a battle field.
Seen the US make short work of them in Iraq total defeat in just weeks.
Heh, it follows the laws of supply and demand...
Most conscript armies are "cheap" due to their massive numbers, and their low skill levels. Thus they devalue the lives and skills of all the soldiers operating within a theater.
So their existence makes it easier for governments and the brass to throw more lives away during a war.
In Singapore(I'm Singaporean), EVERY male that reached the age of 18 will have to be trained in the army for 2years. Its called National Service here. This has been in place since 1967 and till now no one like it.
Because it's a waste of time. Protect the country? The country can blow up for all I care.
Speak for yourself Anon, the 2.5 years I spent were the harshest, shittiest and most dull years of my life and strangely enough the most fun I had as well...
Not everybody has the same idea of fun Anon.
Of all of my friends who went into military service, nobody came back too happy about it.
Good thing they got rid of it before I graduated.
Anybody else see thousands of NEETs, hikkikomoris and otaku getting forced into this shit?
It might actually cure the NEETs of Japan, creating some sort of "Manliness" inside them.. [reffering to Men + Skirt post]
Or at the very least, turn them into Scots Guards...
I always thought the political leaning of the 2ch denizens (and by extension, niconico denizens) to be a bit on the right, considering how they've been extremely hostile to the ruling DPJ's rather liberal policies, like allowing foreign residents to vote, sorting out the WW2 baggage, etc.
And then of course, there's 2ch's favourite past time - Korean-bashing. (With Chinese-bashing a distant second, followed by the usual bashing of "criminal foreigners" and their lot of scum and villainy. )
From the way they've been despairing at the DPJ's landslide election win and constantly plotting their ultimate demise in niconico, I always thought they would be more comfortable with the LDP.
Which is why I find their near unanimous repulsion of this LDP suggestion quite amusing. They want to act all patriotic, but only as long as it is not at their own expense.
That's how people and individuals work.
Article 9 of Japan's Constitution
第九条 日本国民は、正義と秩序を基調とする国際平和を誠実に希求し、国権の発動たる戦争と、武力による威嚇又は武力の行使は、国際紛争を解決する手段としては、永久にこれを放棄する。
二 前項の目的を達するため、陸海空軍その他の戦力は、これを保持しない。国の交戦権は、これを認めない。
Taking a class on International Relations that focuses on East Asia and that would just make China goddamned paranoid as hell. Taking this as a threat and no matter how much that Japan have shifted its focus as an identity, China will just point back to the history of Hirohito, Japanese military aggression in Asia and WWII and say, "In no way I am allowing you to do this."
Just a constructivist theory mindset that's all.
hey why don't they just build gundam.
...or an army of tachikomas :)
They should build a gundam prototype and offer otakus to ride it for 5 minutes for subscription to the army.
they are trying to find work for all those hikikomoris....
good luck getting them out of the house and into military service
yeah that's whats the mp is for, with conscription you don't really have any say in going or not going
Then they lack military discipline. My country recently abolished mandatory military service, but I'm old enough to remember the recruitment policy. If you don't show up when the notice arrives, you will literally be dragged out of your home and forced to pay hefty fine.
And that is totally against the right of someone to say that they do not want to fight and die for wars that they do not agree with.
I'm a total pacifist.... if someone is not trying to harm me from 10 feet away at that very moment.... LEAVE THEM THE HELL ALONE! Or arrest the fuckers!
WE DON'T NEED ARMIES ANYMORE!
What we do need to do? ONE WORLD NATION! Yeah, socialist, I know.... but it's simply time to go that route.... if the Muslims don't like that the one world nation is secular.... FUCK 'EM!
It's past time to get rid of religion TOTALLY anyway!
Yeah, 'service'..... another word for slave labor. The fact is that NO ONE should be forced to do 'service' for their country if they already have jobs... heck, even if they DON'T have jobs, no one should be forced to work for someone else.
@Anon 4:37
"I'm a total pacifist.... if someone is not trying to harm me from 10 feet away at that very moment"
You can stay a pacifist, look at all the relief you can provide to disaster areas, not all service requires you to hold a gun.
Well since not everybody agrees with one world nation.... How would you do it? WAR! Durrrr! And who wants to be the country that's the capital of the world nation? EVERYONE! How are you gonna solve that? WAR! Every nation knows this!
Just say it to russian government. They forcing people to do "service", it`s so cruel, u don`t have any rights. Shi. I hate my country
That's what it is. Ironically the US has a huge military, and we don't force people into it as slaves of the government.
lol the suicide rates will just spike up because the hikkikomoris would rather die than go to the army.
And if they don't kill themselves, the boot camp will finish the job. Either way, good job trying to break the very future of Japan may have, LDP.
Maybe that's an intended side-effect of this legislation. Maybe the Japanese government WANTS to wipe out 'hikkikomori scum', which they see as the scourge of the nation.
Send them to military training and they'll grow a pair.
Or commit suicide.... which then, the government officials who put this ASININE policy into place should then be brought on murder charges.
Or die trying.
Though looking on the bright side, I see both possibilities happening on equal grounds.
If they are going to kill themselves it should be kamikaze style. At least it would be a honorable way of dying.
Hikkikomoris will find the purpose of their own life...I will miss them.
I always supported going to serve the army.But that civilian service is a joke.
Why is 2ch so against it? Don't they want a chance to pilot a gundam?
Cowards, military service does every man good, those that leave and emigrate are the scum you don't want in the first place.
Next stop Korea!
The North Koreans will eat most Japanese soldiers.
Before or after they kill them.
I think this conscription should pass.
Why? To get the otaku and NEET out of their goddamn rooms. They'd suddenly have (more) disposable income, buy things and stimulate the economy.
Uh.... they are ALREADY doing that by buying the stuff that they buy, jackass!
Yes,Japan need to add Gundams and shitload of Nukes to their arsenal,and you shall see a steady rise in volunteers.
Chances are that they'll be stuck with BALLS for the first few years of being enlisted.
And after the first few 'required' years, if they don't choose military as a career path, chances are that they won't get their Gundam because the economy can't afford a second working one yet.
That, or be stuck in deathtraps with severe overheating issues.
id say its a good idea ... look at japan.. population is dying cuz so many ppl staying home. shud make conscription and get people out of their houses.
Then what? Get our asses handed to us by an emotionally unstable arab kid who thinks he's a gundam?
I highly doubt the Japanese Government would just suddenly start or join an armed conflict with a brand new inexperienced army. They don't have the resources to train any significant forces. With that in mind, this could just be a buildup of forces to show off like China and North Korea.(which would cost a metric F*** ton of money)
This seems like a bad idea no matter how I look at it. However, I'll still support it if we start getting Gundam pilots in Afghanistan.
Decrease in population is not due to laziness or otaku, that's all you hear about, but it's hardly true. Is more due to the fact that women have only recently become empowered in Japan, and would much rather focus on their careers than having children, no different than the US, except we had a bunch of religious crackpots who had tons of kids, so our population didn't dip too much when women were more accepted in the workplace.
so Zaku I then?
We have obligatory enlistment here in Brazil, it's not as bad as it sounds, in fact only a small portion of the people that actually "apply" get called to join the army.
People that are usually working or in college are spared.
Seeing as Japan is currently going through a Hikikomori crisis, I can really see this helping.
I think it's a great idea :)
Heh, army enlistment is obligatory here in Brazil but that doesn't mean everyone has to serve.
I don't really see why that'd be a bad thing, in fact, it could get rid (partially) of the hikikomori issue.
I think that's a pretty clever move.
Get a bunch of hikkis, otakus and NEETs together in front of a Drill Sergent Nasty to forcibly make them "integrate" into "military society" [probably one half more terrible than "normal society"] and watch Japan's suicide and "misfire" cases skyrocket.
Especially since There Are No Therapists, family members [lol] and friends [none, lol] are supposed to take care of a person's mental health.
It's gonna be a lol-filled ride.
Considering the alternatives, even I will be happy to be stuck in any Mobile Suit. If it's the infamous Zudah, at least I can die while going 2FAST2FURIOUS.
Same here in Mexico.
You need to get enlisted, but only a small fraction of them do community service. Is not like we're going on war at 18.
It's also a requisite in all jobs that use fire weapons.
Here in Germany we have conscription too.
For those that are Physically able but don't want to serve the 9 Months in the Military there is 9 Months of community service, both are paid by the way.
Personally I think that is a good thing, I learned quite a few things and values there.
Honestly looking at some of the Kids the days in Germany those could use a few Months of Military drill, might make them less stupid.
Unfortunately it's really easy to get out of it.
2ch is not so otaku-oriented like 2chan and 4chan as you think.
2ch and 2chan are not the same thing ? I learn something today !
2ch [http://www.2ch.net/]
2chan [http://www.2chan.net/]
period.
Me too.
They are apparently 2 different forums
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2channel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futaba_Channel
Marvellous – finally I can fight and die magnificently for the sake of our great nation – my heart burns!
+1 to whoever posted this^
Definitely LoL'd the most on that statement.
I'm ill, so i can't go. lol'd
Going to believe some anon from the interwebz that easily? Unicorns really exist! (Only they don't have horns)
2ch and 2chan are the same. Now which anon will you believe in?
Waaaaaaaa?!?! Prove it? Show me the two links please....
So... what's the difference between them?
2ch = ni channel
2chan = futaba channel
4chan = yotsuba channel
2Ch is more like the BBS style board, while 2Chan is what pioneered the Image board style you see today. 2Ch will still allow foreigners to post, 2Chan will not. While 2Chan allows foreigners to visit their board, only Japanese IP's are allowed to make posts.
2Ch is where the shit goes down, 2Chan is probably more irrelevant then 4Chan these days.
I thought they were the same too... Shows how much i know...
If there are Gundams, there be little doubt that there'll be alot of volunteers.
But armies everywhere have cool vehicles like tanks, jet fighters, etc.
A Mech may seem exotic by comparison, but if you don't want to pilot the existing vehicles, chances are your reasons for that would still hold you back from piloting a Gundam.
I... think our country has something similar. But we are let off pretty easily these days.
Not that I'm happy. What, to "protect" our country? We wouldn't even need the "protection" if there wasn't any army to begin with.
2ch is against it because nobody wants to be a cannon fodder.
The point at which military mechanisms are so cool it's just worth throwing your life away for a chance of piloting them hasn't been reached yet.
they probably want to stay shut-in their mother's basement doing otaku stuff
most east european countries have conscription, deciding based on what i see here - its very necessary indeed. not so much from the national defense point of view but from educational point of view, the experience teaches many things a young man would never learn in civilian life.
on another note we all know that one of these days, there is going to be a war again. thinking that just because there has been few decades of peace its here to stay is shortsighted. better to be prepared should war come, for when it does, you will have no say in it
you realize there hasnt actually been peace since the cold war ended. there have been quite a few conflicts they just never really reach japan. (on a sidenote, America is one of the most prominent ´interventionists´so there pretty much isnt any conflict that it hasnt been a part of directly or indirectly)
America has never had peace.
It's always something, either Anarchists are going to get you, foreigners, fascists, reds, communists, hippies, drugs, terrorism.
It feels like every decade in american history has either had a shooting war, buildup to war, or the government keeping a militarist mindset against in country political groups, economic groups, religious groups, or racial groups they want to demonize.
It's always some fucking big ominous dark cloud of evil breathing over your shoulder which is why we can't return your civil liberties just yet, if we did then the terrorist communist socialist anarchist chinese black mexican druggy hippy boogeyman will git ya!
You don't need to be violent to have a say in war... as a matter of fact, usually, the people who have the most to say are the 1s that refuse to fight.
Actually most CIVILIZED European nations are scrapping the idea of conscription.
There's another one. Standing armies are often used by governments against its own population. I remember that in Spain, the army was used (in few numbers, yes) to disperse protesting students.
A modern standing army cost a bomb to maintain. Even if its one with "militia" status. With Japan's high standards of education, it is easy for them to use sophisticated technology. In which their neighbors have trouble integrating.
They maybe shorted sighted but with technology they can see their enemies first. That is the shape of modern warfare.
For good reason... 1. Standing armies give too much temptation to idiots who think that they have the right to force their views on the rest of the world.
2. They don't want people in the Army who don't want to be in it, they are security leaks and risks.
Need I keep going on?
Yeah, right....... learn things like how to murder civilians on orders, kill people when they have no real way to fight back from 30K feet, etc.?
To be blunt: ARMIES NOT NECESSARY! Our nuclear weapons are MORE than enough for any country to keep another country from attacking them.... out of the fear of "M.A.D."
The best thing that we could do..... SCRAP our armies, go to drones (which are the only things we need really to combat terrorists) and STOP INTERFERING IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES!
If they don't want democracy? Fine, leave them the fuck alone!
True man! But.... Everyone wants to rule the world tho.... Thru democracy, views, war, or ect.
M.A.D. is a flawed strategic development as it is on the basis that neither side will be willing to sacrifice the lives of millions for the prestige of intiating first strike. You get military generals and other high ranking officers instead of civilians in charge of the button; boom all nukes launched and first strike begins!
Conventional fighting is actually much more limited than the potential of unconventional weapons/uses.
Well, conscription isn't that bad. We have National Service in Singapore (where all male of age 18 will join the army for 2 years, and will return for a month every year under paid leave for retraining) and there isn't much issues thus far. Hell, because of this, we are able to respond that quickly to the tsunami incident in Acheh.
Then again, Singapore does have a rather low population, and having a standing civilian army is actually beneficial in offsetting the lack of professional career soldiers.
"But from educational point of view, the experience teaches many things a young man would never learn in civilian life."
Uh... I am pretty sure if they wanted to learn things like that they would have joined the army....