Next year could be a major turning point for Japan's security policy as the country reviews its list of do's and don'ts in the postwar era, and tries to raise its security profile abroad.
This year, Japan took a big step toward a greater security role. The Abe administration eased the rules on arms exports and reinterpreted the pacifist Constitution to enable the country to exercise the right to collective self-defense. A controversial secrecy law also came into force to prevent state secrets from being leaked.
For a country that has maintained an "exclusively defense-oriented" policy, a spate of changes that will push the limits of its pacifist stance will be closely watched, even as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose party won the Dec. 14 general election, says the security environment surrounding Japan has become increasingly severe.