They may not be co-ordinated, nor linked in any way. But two events in Asia over the next week will help define Australia’s political and security environment for the next period. First is the convening…
In many respects, Japan’s constitutional debate is a microcosm of Asia’s international order, relfecting a basic mode of operation now past it use-by date.
Shinzo Abe has made his clearest statement yet on his ambition to alter the pacifist Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution.
Reuters/Peter Nicholls
Combat could be on the cards for the first time in over 70 years.
Through reinterpreting the constitution and bidding to build Australia’s submarines, Shinzo Abe is leading Japan towards a more assertive strategic posture.
EPA/Kimimasa Mayama
If construction of its submarines in Australia proceeds, it will be Japan’s first postwar export of a major combat weapons system.
Japan’s neighbours will interpret whatever Shinzo Abe says about his nation’s wartime aggression in the light of his government’s shift to more hawkish policies.
Reuters/Toru Hana
In the West, it is often forgotten that 1945 marks the end of not only the second world war but also of a much longer period of political and social upheaval in Asia.
Japan has spent decades proudly staying out of military matters, but China’s maritime belligerence has changed all that.
The Genbaku Dome at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial has long been the focus of remembrance and now also serves as a site for reconciliation between former enemies.
Saleem H. Ali
The horrific murder of Japanese nationals by Islamic State (IS) terrorists in early February has sparked a pensive debate about whether the pacifist Japanese constitution is an anachronism. Article 9 of…
The Australian government has unquestioningly embraced Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s nationalistic defence policies.
EPA/Kimimasa Mayama
Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe will today address a joint sitting of the Australian parliament as part of his tour of Oceania. This rare honour comes in the wake of his cabinet’s controversial decision…
Japanese prime minister has reiterated his desire to maintain control of the disputed Senkaku Islands in his latest show of assertiveness.
EPA
Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has received praise from financial markets and economists for “Abenomics”, his set of economic stimulus policies which have so far returned positive growth to the long-stagnant…
Shinzo Abe has returned to the post of prime minister in Japan.
m-louis/Flickr
I thought for a breathless moment back in 2009 that we would see a new progressive government in Japan. Gone would be almost six decades of unimaginative conservative rule. Gone would be the subservience…