US strikes on Iran put Japan in dilemma
The recent US attacks on nuclear facilities in Iran put Japan in a dilemma over how to balance its principle of upholding the rule of law and its alliance with the United States amid the Iran-Israel conflict.
After blasting Israel's attacks on Iran, Japan would have been accused of adopting a double standard if it did not decry the US actions. But criticising the United States posed a risk of damaging the Japan-US alliance.
Faced with this dilemma, Japan opted to express a certain level of understanding for the US actions.
Immediately reacting to Israel's pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear and military facilities on June 13, the Japanese government said that it "strongly condemns" Israel based on its principle of upholding the rule of law.
Tokyo chose stronger language than its Group of Seven peers, given that it had criticised China's assertive actions as a unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force.
The US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities on Sunday put Japan on the spot. The U.N. Charter bans the use of force with only a few exceptions, such as acts taken in self-defence.
Although Washington said that it exercised its right to collective self-defence, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said, "That is a difficult point to make in terms of international law."
If Japan had gone out to publicly question the lack of reasoning under international law, such actions would have displeased US President Donald Trump, possibly causing the two countries' ties to slump.
Tokyo finally came up with a foreign minister's statement Monday, saying, "Japan understands that the US action demonstrates its determination to de-escalate the situation while preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons."
In the statement, Tokyo neither supported nor decried the US move.
"We can't possibly tell the United States, our ally, that there are international law-related concerns," a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
Asked about the legal assessment of the US attacks, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told a press conference Monday, "I know there are various arguments from the viewpoint of international law."
"Our country is not directly involved in the matter," he also said. "It's hard to give a definite assessment."
Since Trump has made statements perceived as lacking respect for international law, such as repeatedly expressing hope that his country will annex Greenland, the Japanese government is seen as continuing to find itself torn between the Japan-US alliance and upholding the rule of law.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
