In contrast to neighboring countries, former U.S. National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair welcomes the efforts by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to reinterpret the pacifist Constitution and bolster the nation's defense capabilities, saying Japan needs to adapt itself to the changing security landscape of the Asia-Pacific region.
Blair, who also served as commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command between 1999 and 2002, said expansion of the Self-Defense Forces' capabilities as well as Abe's push to reinterpret the Constitution to exercise the right of collective self-defense are both prudent moves.
"I applaud his direction. . . . It's a new era. I think the new era calls for a new interpretation of old documents," Blair told The Japan Times during a recent interview in Tokyo.