The call for Japan to embrace the military prerogative of a sovereign democracy, made louder by a candid Undersecretary of State Richard Armitage just three weeks ago, is now being broadcast from the highest levels in Washington:

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday said Japan will have to "examine'' war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution if it wants a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

"We understand the importance of Article 9 to the Japanese people and why it's in your Constitution,'' he said in an interview with The Asahi Shimbun and other Japanese media representatives here. But at the same time, if Japan is going to play a full role on the world stage and become a full active participating member of the Security Council and have the kinds of obligations that it would pick up as a (council) member, then Article 9 would have to be examined in that light.''

The free world's circumstances have changed, its leader acting accordingly. The Japanese would do well — for themselves and allies — to assume their reserved role.

Cassini-Huygens, no slouch, has discovered two new Saturnine moons. Dubbed "worldlets" and sporting diameters that bring Le Petit Prince to mind, S/2004s S1 and S2 are the newest editions to the sixth planet's orbital family, and another feat of space exploration.

Catch up on Cassini's other exploits here.

From Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, an embarrassing failure of Tehran's intentions:

Millions of Iranians boycotted, today, government sponsored rallies against the war in Iraq and the fighting in Najaf. Most Iranians ignored repeated government requests, or demands from the regime's leaders and the Office of Islamic Propagation by staying home, or taking short trips using Friday to enjoy rather than sharing the concerns of the shaky theocracy.

The Islamic regime was only able to coerce limited numbers into the center Tehran streets and some main Iranian cities. A few thousand and some smaller groups of professional demonstrators composed mainly of Bassij and foreign Islamists were were all that the Mullahs could motivate to support their demands. Last week the regime quietly let pass its fiasco of not being able to successfully promote an earlier "popular" demonstration against U.S. led Coalition members that was also ignored by most Iranians.

Read it for yourself. Iran's theocratic leaders have no greater enemy than the Iranian population itself.

Iran is the holed-up outlaw who just demanded a posse of ten come out with their hands up. But why shouldn't the mullahs pull diplomatic stunts, when Europe looks and plays like a violin?

Cassini-Huygens has been working hard at scanning Saturn from every angle — and it's been doing much more than taking pretty pictures.

What keeps hackers in business? Too little caution. Take this phishing test — do you know a legitimate commercial e-mail from a scam? I scored 90%, losing my nerve on one of them at the last minute. If you fail the test, learn why; your private accounts will be grateful.

You can't say Cassini-Huygens is just beginning to get interesting — it's been spectacular from the start.

When we last left off with Japan's debate on completing its sixty-year journey towards democratic normalization by asserting its right to offensive military action, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi himself was calling for the reconsideration of Article 9, the pacifist keystone to Japan's American-authored postwar constitution. Before the definitive rise of Islamist terrorism in 2001, a decade of post-Cold War geopolitics quickly transformed Pax Americana into an undertaking of disproportionate military responsibility favorable to lesser democratic nations that was suddenly followed out of habit and comfort rather than necessity. Three years into the war on terror and dictatorship, the reluctance of many free countries — legal or cultural — to use the force of arms for the greater cause is now a direct impedence to international security. Japan's conversation has been proceeding for months, and even the pragmatists from Foggy Bottom are applying a combination of encouragement and pressure:

Officials in the ruling coalition as well as the opposition camp clearly were caught off-guard by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's remark last week that war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution is becoming an obstacle to strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance. Since it was uttered by a senior Bush administration official known for his deep understanding of Japan, they fear it may negatively affect Japan-U.S. relations and ongoing debate in Japan on revisions to the Constitution.

Armitage also told Nakagawa that while Washington supported Tokyo's moves to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, any nation with that status must be ready to deploy military force in the interests of the international community. Unless it is prepared to do that, Armitage said it would be difficult for Japan to become a permanent member.

Article 9 is interpreted to mean that Japan is banned from exercising the right to collective self-defense, which the ruling Liberal Democratic Party wants to change.

It is also the LDP that has resisted Japan's political tendency towards benign fence-sitting — Article 9 was originally intended to etch Japanese postwar shame into law to help prevent a resurgence of militarism. Supreme Commander of Allied Powers' lesson worked almost too well: pacifism directs Japanese inaction almost as strongly as ambivalence and nihilism has left much of Western Europe largely defenseless. How would the free world benefit from each democratic nation assuming a truly corresponding share of military responsibility, instead of relying on the eternally dutiful United States? Immeasurably. The Yomiuri Shimbun offers a rebuke to reactionaries:

Article 9, after all, is the reason Japan gives for not being able to defend the United States from attack, even though the United States is obliged to defend Japan. Article 9 is the reason why Japan cannot take part in international contingencies by exercising collective self-defense. And Article 9 is the primary reason why Japan cannot stand shoulder to shoulder as an equal partner of the United States in the bilateral alliance.

If such restrictions are not impediments to the alliance then what is? More importantly, if Japanese lawmakers do not see the inherent problems of constitutional restrictions on the bilateral security treaty, then the alliance really is in peril — it cannot be sustained if the constitutional status quo lasts forever. If Armitage's comments had any deeper meaning, it was surely to drive home that point.

...Clearly, Japan's security debate continues to be mired in self-imposed taboos--even though the nation has in recent years loosened the pacifist grip on discussions of defense issues. But in order for Japanese lawmakers to transform Japan into a more "normal" nation — with a greater role in the U.S.-Japan alliance and international security affairs — they will have to confront the issues headon. If Armitage's remarks spark such a candid debate, then it will have been worth all the trouble.

We're best to remember what John Stuart Mill said about those who enjoy freedom at the "exertions of men better than [themselves]." There is no substantive reason why Japan — or any other free country — shouldn't equip and conduct itself to match the relative strength of the United States. Global security isn't a contest. Americans prefer able colleagues to lackeys, reserving their respect for the efficacious.

Michael Ledeen walks us out of the circus tent and away from the spectacle for a moment:

I know all the political addicts are od'ing in Boston, but has anyone asked any top Dem what about Iran? You probably aren't permitted to read the news up there, but Iran has resumed production on a gas for the centrifuges that make enriched uranium, and has also broken the seals the IAEA placed on some of the equipment.

The Dems are demanding that the administration adopt the recommendations of the 9/11 commission. But the commission report speaks of close working relations between Iran and al Qaeda. So do the Dems accept those parts too? Or only the parts that want even more intel bureaucracy?

Why don't you ask them?

I know it's only the survival of the nation, but surely there are five spare minutes in the day...

Bush and his host had better gird their loins for some honest Republican National Convention talk about solid plans for an endgame with Iran — otherwise the Democrats have nothing to be measured against, sacrificing an issue for the administration and consigning the world to watch from the upper deck as Tehran goes nuclear.

Old habits die hard in Japan:

The head of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's tax commission has said the Japanese government could move to increase the tax burden on individuals as early as next year as a broadening recovery boosts the economy. Hiromitsu Ishi, who is also president of Hitotsubashi University, said tax cuts introduced by a previous government in 2000 had to be repealed or mitigated and "maybe in a year or so. .. discussion of this will come from the political side".

Tax on consumption, income and inheritance should be raised, he said, as part of broader reforms to boost tax revenues. Any plan to raise taxes levied on individuals would be met with political and economic controversy.

Some voters are likely to resist paying more taxes, particularly if companies do not appear to be sharing the burden. The timing of a tax rise would also be crucial, as a consumption tax increase in 1997 was criticised for being too hasty and choking off an economic upturn.

Let's hope the Japanese electorate smothers any hopes in Tokyo of dipping into the free-market bounty enjoyed by the country for nearly a year. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi responded to public queries by reiterating his pledge not to raise taxes. It's difficult to say whether the rest of Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party will respect the prime minister's wishes; to make matters worse, opposition leaders in the Democratic Party of Japan favor tax increases. Those of us who know better understand the tax dance: rates go up, revenue streams that might briefly increase stutter and fail as the economy chokes up — though often after legislators have shifted their priority from debt-bailing to pork barrel-lining. The economy falters, revenues trickle, debt soars; the state returns to the decision of whether to cut taxes and let the private sector free again, or play by the rules of the bureau and raise duties and squeeze a few more dollars out of taxpayers.

The Japanese were doing well. It'd be a shame to see them ignore free-marketeers' advice and go back to square one.