However, a month of debate in the Lower House suggests the government may be trying to emphasize "voluntary" efforts by the people to protect themselves, instead of the state's responsibility to defend them.
"If people can make efforts in peacetime and protect their own communities on their own (in the event of war), that would be ideal," home affairs minister Taro Aso told the special committee session discussing the bills last week.
That statement makes it look like the government is telling people that the state has no responsibility to help citizens in the event of an attack.
And then there's this:
"The bill says people will not be forced to cooperate, but the government has emphasized voluntary efforts," including participation in training, said Susumu Murakoshi, head of a task force on emergency legislation at the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, when he was invited to testify before the Diet.
"When people are encouraged to cooperate on a regular basis in peacetime, I'm afraid cooperation might become obligatory."
While the citizen protection bill stopped short of legally binding people to prepare for a "foreign military attack," some lawmakers, mainly in the ruling camp but also some from the opposition, openly advocate obliging the public to heed evacuation and rescue orders during emergencies.
So basically, if people aren't good samaritans and help their fellow man, you can't count on government aid? Has the J-gov't decided to abandon citizens when the bombs from North Korea fall? Weird.
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As if one Columbine wasn't enough.
