Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s state visit to the United States – highlighted by his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on April 10 – crystallizes the fundamental tenets of the Japanese post-war security architecture, while also affirming the new reorientations of the U.S. strategy for the Indo-Pacific. This comes at a time of significant … Read more
Japanese pacifism runs deep. It is embedded in the Japanese Constitution. War-renouncing Article 9 is perhaps the best-known example, but pacifism is present from the outset of the document. The very first sentence of the preamble castigates “the horrors of war” and espouses the benefits of “peaceful cooperation with all nations.” Depending on the perspective, … Read more
Advertisement Japan no longer needs U.S. pressure to undertake a radical expansion in its defense capabilities and security commitments. Rising threat levels in Japan’s regional environment, particularly from China, have become the most important factor driving change in these areas of government policy, as well as changing public attitudes toward dramatically increasing defense capabilities and … Read more
Advertisement In December 2022, Japan announced a new National Security Strategy, including a significant increase of the defense budget and the acquisition of offensive weaponry. While the decision has been praised among the hawks of U.S. and transatlantic foreign policymaking, it is stirring up old ghosts of Japanese militarism in East Asia. At the same … Read more