For subscribers
News analysis
Japan divided by PM Kishida’s drastic security overhaul
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
A protester in Tokyo holding a placard that reads "Stop the military expansion" on Friday.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
TOKYO – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida justified the drastic overhaul of Japan’s security policy on Friday as necessary, given that tabletop exercises have shown current defences to be woefully inadequate to stave off an attack.
The candid admission, it was hoped, will be grounds for what represents a drastic pivot from Japan’s post-war pacifism.


