Given the threats that Japan faces – and its exemplary record of responsible behavior since WWII – constitutional constraints on its ability to defend itself should be eased. But overcoming opposition to Japan's military normalization will require the country to demonstrate that it has come to terms fully with its wartime record.
NEW YORK – Soon after the Islamic State's brutal murder in January of the Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for the country's “biggest reform" of its military posture since the end of World War II. Abe wants Japan to become a “normal" country again, with the capacity to defend its interests and citizens wherever they are threatened. But how should his government go about it?
NEW YORK – Soon after the Islamic State's brutal murder in January of the Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for the country's “biggest reform" of its military posture since the end of World War II. Abe wants Japan to become a “normal" country again, with the capacity to defend its interests and citizens wherever they are threatened. But how should his government go about it?