Asian security experts have welcomed the victory by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ruling coalition in Sunday's House of Councilors election, saying Japan's political stability and leadership are vital for shoring up a rules-based international order being challenged by countries such as China and Russia.
Citing Russia's aggression in Ukraine, China's increased assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific and North Korea's nuclear and missile development, the experts either expressed support for or did not oppose Kishida's calls for boosting Japan's defense capabilities and amending the Constitution, including adding a reference to the Self-Defense Forces in the war-renouncing Article 9.
"In the current environment with the war in Ukraine and growing concern over the risk of conflict between China and Taiwan, there is growing support for a greater Japanese security role in the Indo-Pacific," said Gordon Flake, chief executive officer of the Perth USAsia Center at the University of Western Australia.