Photo, top: A pilot in Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) poses beside her anime portrait, a decal on her fighter jet. Bottom: A soldier in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) places a Palestinian boy in a choke hold. AP/Activestills.

Israel vs Japan: What Constitutes a “Defense Force”?

Among the few nations wielding militaries named in self-defense are Israel and Japan. International law defines self-defense as a proportional military action of last resort - a definition apparently endorsed by Japan. “It’s not here to invade other nations,” says Bo-Emon, a cartoon talking bird from the Japanese Ministry of Defense’s latest video. “The SDF [Self-Defense Forces] are here to protect Japan from foreign invasions.” The regional threat is obvious: Japan’s atomic neighbor, North Korea, abducts civilians and says that Tokyo is to be “consumed in nuclear flames”.

The threat posed to Israel by Gaza, which lacks industrial production capabilities under Israeli blockade, is less clear. Consider the statements made by Israel’s Minister of Defense during its 2008-2009 war on Gaza, Tzipi Livni, who praised the Israeli army for “going wild, [which] is a good thing”. She maintained thereafter, “Israel demonstrated real hooliganism during the course of the recent operation, which I demanded.” Israel appears to have abandoned the international guiding principles of necessity and proportionality in order to operate under the assumption that the best defense is a good offense. History provides a bigger picture:

Invasions conducted by Israel after 1948: 14+ . Egypt (1956, 1967), Iraq (1967), Jordan (1967), Lebanon (1967, 1978, 1982, 2006), Palestine* (1987-1993, 2000-2005, 2008-2009, 2012, 2014), Syria (1967) .

. . Invasions conducted by Japan after 1948: 0**.

In lieu of a name change, the Israeli military has a lot to learn about the meaning of self-defense from its Japanese counterpart. And if Israel wants peace, it should take its cues from the postwar era instead of the imperial one.

*Pre-67 Israeli incursions into Palestine are tallied for the countries that controlled Palestinian territory at that time.

**Japan did send a battalion to Iraq in 2004; they managed “water purification, reconstruction and reestablishment of public facilities for the Iraqi people” (x).