Essay: Understanding Japan’s Shifting Defense Policy

The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has proposed major changes in Japan’s defense policy, with strong implications for the United States and U.S. armed forces in the Pacific.

The changes, designed to shift Japan away from an isolated, pacifistic defense posture to a more dynamic one based on bilateral and even multilateral relationships, are controversial but not uncommon to most nations.

Politically, Abe’s security agenda is designed to get Japan more involved in the world, and more capable of being a partner operating with the United States.

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