Editorial
Japan's early approval of cluster munitions convention a welcome move
A single cluster bomb releases hundreds of bomblets that explode over a wide area, but unexploded bomblets that land on the ground act like landmines, and there have been countless tragedies in which people have been killed or injured by sudden explosions. It is welcome news that the House of Councillors on Wednesday approved a bill to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
The convention, which bans the stockpiling and use of cluster munitions, received support from the House of Representatives in May, and its passage in the Upper House ensures that Japan will ratify it. Countries including Norway, Austria, Mexico, and Ireland have already ratified the convention, which is also referred to as the Oslo Treaty, and Germany has effectively completed ratification procedures. The Cluster Munition Coalition in London says that eight countries have submitted ratification documents to U.N. headquarters.
Japan can be proud of the fact that it has joined other countries in quickly ratifying the convention. The treaty comes into effect six months after the 30th state has submitted its instrument of ratification. Countries that have ratified the treaty must dispose of all cluster bombs within eight years from the time the treaty becomes effective. After the convention comes into effect, Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) will immediately cease operations using cluster bombs, and will dispose of cluster munitions within the set time frame.
Concerns have emerged from within the Liberal Democratic Party and other sections of the government that eliminating cluster munitions could lower Japan's defense capabilities, but are cluster munitions really weapons that are indispensable for the defense of the nation? To replace cluster munitions, the SDF plans to introduce equipment with precision-guided capability, and it would be stretching a point to argue that eliminating cluster bombs would immediately lower Japan's defense capabilities.
The issue now at hand is the participation of military powers such as the United States, Russia and China. From 2018, the U.S. Department of Defense will reportedly use only improved cluster bombs whose level of unexploded bomblets is under 1 percent. This means that until then it will continue to use and export the older type. However, as the U.S. possesses many types of weapons, it is not as if the country will stick to cluster munitions alone. We hope U.S. President Barack Obama will make a bold decision to join the convention.
Since the Iraq War in 2003, the United States has not used cluster munitions. International human rights groups say that both Russian and Georgian military forces used cluster bombs in last year's Georgia conflict, resulting in the deaths of at least 16 civilians and injuring 54. It is also known that the Israeli military used a large amount of cluster bombs in Lebanese territory, and the weapons have also been used in Vietnam, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
However, since the international mine ban treaty came into effect in 1999, cluster munitions have been facing the fate of total elimination. Japan received international gratitude for joining the landmine treaty and assisting countries in the removal of landmines. As for cluster munitions, Japan should work to have military powers, particularly the U.S., join the treaty while making positive contributions in the area of support for victims of the weapons.
(Mainichi Japan) June 10, 2009