Japan’s 2015 Security Legislation: Challenges to its Implementation under International Law

Japan’s new security legislation, enacted on September 30, 2015 amid fierce debate over its constitutionality, is designed to enable a “seamless response” to any security situation that may arise. While public debate has been fixated on the re-interpretation of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which underpins the theoretical foundation of this new legislation, there are also important international law issues that need to be addressed. After briefly reviewing the historical background leading to the adoption of the new security legislation and its contents, this article examines how the Self-Defense Force (SDF) can respond with the use of force to contemporary security issues within the new legislative framework, while also complying with the relevant rules of international law. It examines three different situations in which the SDF may find itself operating: “gray zone” situations; peacekeeping operations with a mandate to protect civilians; and collective self-defense. It concludes that while the new security legislation goes some way to mend the unravelled seams left by the previous legislative regime, disjuncture between the new legislative regime and relevant rules of international law remains, leaving gaps and uncertainties that can be exploited by hostile actors

Nanotechnology and challenges to international humanitarian law: a preliminary legal assessment

The introduction of nanotechnology into our civil life and warfare is expected to influence the application and interpretation of the existing rules of international humanitarian law. This article examines the challenges posed to international humanitari

Nanotechnology and the Future of the Law of Weaponry

Novel applications of nanotechnology for military purposes are expected to have a transformative impact on the way in which wars can be fought in the future battlespace, with the potential to drive changes to the law of weaponry. This article considers the potential of military applications of nanotechnology to bring changes to the existing principles and rules of weapons law. It specifically focuses on the likelihood that more sophisticated, miniaturized and tailored weapons and weapon systems will be produced that enable mechanical precision of targeting with no or few civilian casualties

The Legal Characterization of Lethal Autonomous Maritime Systems: Warship, Torpedo, or Naval Mine?

With the rapid advances in autonomous navigation and artificial intelligence technology, naval industries are edging closer to the development of unmanned maritime platforms with lethal autonomous capability—lethal autonomous maritime systems (LAMS). The emergence of LAMS as a sui generis hybrid weapon system will almost certainly generate disagreement on their legal status. Currently, there is no agreement among States as to whether LAMS should legally be characterized as warships or other means of warfare, such as torpedoes and naval mines. This lack of certainty represents a significant deficiency with potential strategic and operational implications if left unresolved. To assist States in assessing the strategic and national interests served by characterizing LAMS within the existing legal framework, this article examines the legal implications of designating LAMS as a warship, torpedo, or naval mine under the applicable rules of international law for each. These legal implications are discussed with specific consideration of navigational rights in peacetime and belligerent rights in the conduct of hostilities during armed conflict

The Legal Characterization of Lethal Autonomous Maritime Systems: Warship, Torpedo, or Naval Mine?

With the rapid advances in autonomous navigation and artificial intelligence technology, naval industries are edging closer to the development of unmanned maritime platforms with lethal autonomous capability-lethal autonomous maritime systems (LAMS). The emergence of LAMS as a sui generis hybrid weapon system will almost certainly generate disagreement on their legal status. Currently, there is no agreement among States as to whether LAMS should legally be characterized as warships or other means of warfare, such as torpedoes and naval mines. This lack of certainty represents a significant deficiency with potential strategic and operational implications if left unresolved. To assist States in assessing the strategic and national interests served by characterizing LAMS within the existing legal framework, this article examines the legal implications of designating LAMS as a warship, torpedo, or naval mine under the applicable rules of international law for each. These legal implications are discussed with specific consideration of navigational rights in peacetime and belligerent rights in the conduct of hostilities during armed conflict

Prospects for the Rules-Based Global Order

The two-decade period of United States post-Cold War predominance is now over, and an era of greater multipolarity has begun. Many fear that the rise of China and a resurgent Russia will bring marked decline in respect for rules and international law. Western policymakers are responding by placing greater value on the ‘rules-based global order’. In 2016 Australia’s Defence White Paper warned that “the rules-based global order is under increasing pressure and has shown signs of fragility”. This new Centre of Gravity Paper by Greg Raymond, Hitoshi Nasu, See Seng Tan and Rob McLaughlin examines the idea of a ‘Rules Based Global Order’. It brings a multi-disciplinary focus to examine how the rules based global order emerged, what it really means and what its future looks like in a more contested strategic environment

ONO-1301, a Sustained-Release Prostacyclin Analog, Ameliorates the Renal Alterations in a Mouse Type 2 Diabetes Model Possibly Through Its Protective Effects on Mesangial Cells

Diabetic nephropathy is the most common pathological disorder predisposing patients to end-stage renal disease. Considering the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus worldwide, novel therapeutic approaches are urgently needed. ONO-1301 is a novel sustained-release prostacyclin analog that inhibits thromboxane A2 synthase. Here we examined the therapeutic effects of the intermittent administration of slow-release ONO-1301 (SR-ONO) on diabetic nephropathy in obese type 2 diabetes mice, as well as its direct effects on mesangial cells. The subcutaneous injection of SR-ONO (3mg/kg) every 3 wks did not affect the obesity or hyperglycemia in the db/db obese mice used as a model of type 2 diabetes, but it significantly ameliorated their albuminuria, glomerular hypertrophy, glomerular accumulation of type IV collagen, and monocyte/macrophage infiltration, and also the increase of TGF-β1, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and MCP-1 compared to vehicle treatment. In cultured mouse mesangial cells, ONO-1301 concentration-dependently suppressed the increases in TGF-β, type IV collagen, α-SMA, MCP-1 and fibronectin induced by high ambient glucose, at least partly through prostacyclin (PGI2) receptor-mediated signaling. Taken together, these results suggest the potential therapeutic efficacy of the intermittent administration of SR-ONO against type 2 diabetic nephropathy, possibly through protective effects on mesangial cells

Renal Distribution of Vasohibin-1 in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Experimental studies have demonstrated the involvement of angiogenesis-related factors in the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). There have so far been no reports investigating the distribution and clinical roles of Vasohibin-1 (VASH-1), a negative feedback regulator of angiogenesis, in CKD. We recruited 54 Japanese CKD patients and 6 patients who had normal renal tissues excised due to localized renal cell carcinoma. We evaluated the correlations between the renal expression level of VASH-1 and the clinical/histological parameters. VASH-1 was observed in renal endothelial/mesangial cells, crescentic lesions and interstitial inflammatory cells. Significant positive correlations were observed between 1) crescent formation and the number of VASH-1+ cells in the glomerulus (r＝0.48, p＝0.001) or cortex (r＝0.64, p＜0.0001), 2) interstitial cell infiltration and the number of VASH-1+ cells in the cortex (r＝0.34, p＝0.02), 3) the glomerular VEGFR-2+ area and the number of VASH-1+ cells in the glomerulus (r＝0.44, p＝0.01) or medulla (r＝0.63, p＝0.01). These results suggest that the renal levels of VASH-1 may be affected by local inflammation, crescentic lesions and VEGFR-2