NYTIMES (Kiuko Notoya and John Yoon) - Why Antiwar Protesters are Rallying in Japan
Demonstrators are opposed to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s efforts to build up military power and move the country away from its pacifist identity.
NYTIMES (Javier C. Hernández) - Japan to Sell More Weapons Abroad, Breaking With Postwar Pacifism
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reversed limits on arms exports as Japan faces rising threats from China and unpredictability from its main ally, the United States.
WASHINGTONPOST (Michelle Lee, Chie Tanaka) - Japan is a pacifist nation, and now a hint of change is drawing rare protests
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has made revising the constitution’s “no-war” clause a priority amid rising threats in Asia, but any change is highly sensitive.
CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY (Grant Newsham) - The postwar Japan Constitution: a ‘get out of jail free’ card
Originally published by Japan Forward
Before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met President Donald Trump in Washington a couple of weeks ago, the Japanese fretted that Trump would ask Japan to send the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) to the Persian Gulf – even just a few ships or aircraft. Anyone who has dealt with Japanese officialdom for any length of time can imagine the teeth-sucking followed by an anguished “too hard.” Takaichi said beforehand that she would explain to “Donald” the limitations on what Japan could do. Implicitly, these are “constitutional” limitations – set by the Japanese constitution , which was, in fact, drafted by the Americans after World War II. The Takaichi-Trump meeting proved to be pure bonhomie, and the “JSDF to the Gulf”…Open