Human Interest

Even though it has been 70 years since Japan was waging war across the world, it still should be a little concerning to anyone who has studied and understands how World War II played out and its' ramifications.  Japan is, essentially, making a move to slowly move away from their war-inducing military restrictions.  While, I don't think anyone should "dictate" what Japan does, I think this needs to play out transparently and collectively for the world to see. 

This move by the Japanese government was inevitable and nessacary. Japans neighbors are becoming more hostile by the day. China and North Korea are both stepping up their military might. Both nations are clear threats to the peace and security of Japan. The natural response, would be to counter the growing militarism of China and North Korea by building up your own arm forces to serve as deterrent. The old article pacifying Japan  no longer makes sense in our current world environment.  Japan is now one of the United States strongest allies. Allowing Japan to raise an army, would take pressure off are already overextended military.

Since the end of the Second World War, Japan has remained out of external military engagements, the result of a clause in its constitution drafted to prevent a reoccurrence of the Japanese aggression that sparked the war in the Pacific. However, with both China and North Korea displaying some concerning foreign policy, with China in particular flexing its muscles in the South Pacific, Japan has taken measures to expand its military capacity. There has been open debate in Japan over whether or not to expand its military power, with public opinion being relatively split; in the US, there has been widespread approval for the decision, in the hopes that Japan, long since a regional power, will take more responsibility for both its own defense and the defense of its neighbors. With the expansion of China's naval power recently- with the artificial islands appearing all over the Pacific, and them recently establishing their first naval base on the African continent- perhaps it is time for Japan, one of the US's staunchest allies, to step up to the plate and flex its own muscles. If this push is successful in giving the Japanese military more bite, it will be interesting to see China's response to the measure, and if its foreign policy will change accordingly.