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For 80 years, Japan has tied its own hands. Will it now get a ‘normal’ military?
Murmurs grow to amend the post-war pacifist Constitution and formalise a force that can defend the country.
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Members of the the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on May 21. Officials remain quietly confident that Japan can still be a formidable force by strengthening security partnerships.
PHOTO: AFP
- Japan aims to become a "normal power", enhancing its defence capabilities through technology and alliances, despite condemnation from China and Russia.
- Revising its pacifist Article 9 is Japan's main hurdle to clarifying its defence identity, with growing public support for recognising the SDF in the Constitution.
- Japan faces challenges balancing defence modernisation, including increased spending and arms exports, with public anxieties about militarism and SDF neutrality.
AI generated
TOKYO – On May 20, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin jointly condemned Japan’s “accelerated remilitarisation”, alleging that Tokyo’s “extreme provocations” are destabilising the region.
Tokyo dismissed these charges as “entirely unfounded”. A government spokesman retorted that Japan has “consistently upheld freedom, democracy and the rule of law” since 1945, contributing to global prosperity rather than undermining it.
