Japan's recent moves, from sending a warship through the Taiwan Strait and expanding lethal arms exports to renewed offerings at the Yasukuni Shrine, are raising alarm across the region. Alexis Dudden, professor of History at the University of Connecticut and visiting professor of Japanese Studies at NUS, said Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is "ripping the lid off" long-standing hawkish, right-wing views in Japanese politics. Dudden warned that by stoking a "China threat" narrative while expanding arms production, Japan is losing its postwar identity as a "peace state."