Can Japan's Peace Constitution withstand its new military ambitions?

Eighty years after Japan's unconditional surrender and the adoption of its postwar Peace Constitution under Allied supervision, the country now stands at a pivotal crossroads. In recent years, the Japanese government has increasingly justified military expansion by invoking fabricated or exaggerated security crises. It's a clear departure from its constitutional pacifist principles that has stirred growing regional concern. Most recently, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested a "Taiwan contingency" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan during a parliamentary debate, implying possible military intervention under the banner of "collective self-defense." Such rhetoric not only contradicts Japan's own constitution but also poses a serious challenge to the postwar international order.

At this critical moment, Victor Gao, chair professor at Soochow University and vice president of the Center for China and Globalization, raises a pressing question: How can the international community restrain Japan's right-wing forces and prevent history from repeating itself? If Japan continues to abandon its long-standing pacifist path, where will it lead East Asia, and at what cost?