
Commentary / Japan Jun 6, 2018
Brace for the rise of the 'Japan question'
Whether or not North Korea denuclearizes, in the future Japan will be pushed to become more self-reliant on defense.
For Masahiro Matsumura's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Whether or not North Korea denuclearizes, in the future Japan will be pushed to become more self-reliant on defense.
Japan is facing an existential threat and needs to respond accordingly.
With the proper policy, calibrated Japanese arms export to Southeast Asian countries can be an effective policy instrument for preserving regional stability.
Taipei needs to develop an approach aimed at deterring Beijing from initiating diplomatic offensives or, once they get under way, at least rolling them back.
The national debate over the security bills as been limited to constitutional issues but it should also focus on Japan's significantly enhanced responsibilities in the U.S. defense guidelines.
Careful analysis of China's coming demographic changes — rapid graying unprecedented in human history — shows that Beijing's seemingly unstoppable rise is heading for a brick wall.
Japan is wise not to join China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which could end up merely as a policy instrument for Beijing.
The crux of Beijing's declining respect for Hong Kong is Britain's apparent efforts to enhance its economic relationship with China amid U.S. hegemonic decline.
The Abe administration's first National Security Strategy basically continues the longtime status quo policy, indicating that the prime minister remains trapped in the ongoing domestic polemics of peace vs. self-defense.
China's ability to bring North Korea into line may depend on the outcome of an epochal struggle to bring the Shenyang Military District, which borders North Korea, under central authority.