{"id":17706,"date":"2026-05-06T01:54:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T01:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/17706\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T01:54:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T01:54:14","slug":"opinion-the-domestic-dynamics-driving-japans-remilitarisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/17706\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion | The domestic dynamics driving Japan\u2019s remilitarisation"},"content":{"rendered":"

But the real, and more decisive, story is unfolding on Japan\u2019s home front. The domestic dynamic driving this change is often a footnote, yet it is the engine. Understanding it is crucial, especially for Beijing, as it navigates an East Asia with a declining US hegemon<\/a> and a rapidly remilitarising Japan.<\/p>\n

On the surface, a contradiction exists. Pacifist and liberal opposition remains. Article 9 of the constitution retains deep emotional resonance. Protest voices persist. Yet Takaichi\u2019s approval ratings are strong. This is the result of a long, deliberate project.<\/p>\n

For decades, the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has cultivated the soil through education reforms, curated historical narratives, orchestrated visits to Yasukuni Shrine<\/a> and eroded pacifist taboos. The goal was generational change. My years in Japan showed me this first-hand. I reviewed textbooks<\/a> whose language softened, reframing the war, with Japan portrayed as a historical actor akin to Western imperial powers, even a victim.It worked. The new generation carries less wartime guilt. I have spoken with many Japanese peers who argue they should not bear their grandparents\u2019 guilt. Their identity is shaped by contemporary anxieties: economic stagnation, a rising China and North Korean missiles<\/a>. For many, nationalism is a pragmatic shield. A strong Japan is a safe Japan. This is Takaichi\u2019s base.<\/p>\n

This contrasts sharply with the Japan I knew decades ago. I remember elderly men, former soldiers, bowing to apologise for their actions in China. Their passing marks not just a demographic shift, but the closing of a chapter where the war was a lived experience, not a historical debate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"But the real, and more decisive, story is unfolding on Japan\u2019s home front. The domestic dynamic driving this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[185,549,12,374,8,6821,2240,14071,9557,33,4907,358,296,2234,52,3899],"class_list":{"0":"post-17706","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-japan","8":"tag-article","9":"tag-beijing","10":"tag-china","11":"tag-east-asia","12":"tag-japan","13":"tag-junichiro-koizumi","14":"tag-liberal-democratic-party","15":"tag-liz-truss","16":"tag-margaret-thatcher","17":"tag-nihon","18":"tag-north-korean","19":"tag-sanae-takaichi","20":"tag-shinzo-abe","21":"tag-taiwan-strait","22":"tag-tokyo","23":"tag-yasukuni-shrine"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}