Inside ​Japan’s Controversial Military Expansion

Decades after World War II, Japan begins an aggressive rearmament program

Implications for the stability of the greater Pacific region notwithstanding, what does Japan‘s aggressive expansion of the Self Defense Forces (SDF) projective/offensive military capability mean for Japan‘s place in the wider world? Is Japan merely responding to China‘s (People’s Republic of China – PRC) military buildup or North Korea‘s (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – DPRK) threat, or is it something entirely different? Some critics fear a reawakening of nationalist sentiments while others think it is sensible and timely for Japan to begin re-evaluating its position with regard to projective military capability.