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Does she not get that Japan’s military force being neutered is a key element to the continued US-Japanese alliance?
that or she's ahead of the curve and feels like Japan will renew a proactive role in US hegemony. only instead of being the factory of post war US hegemony in East Asia, Japan will be / fancies that it could be the spearhead.
i think the only other country that has had that role with no contradictions whatsoever was Israel.
I wonder if she sees what Israel is doing in West Asia and feels Japan could fulfill the same attack dog of empire role in the East/Pacific.
people should know by now that the path to israelhood (carte blanche to kill, maim and murder anyone they want) is paved by saddam husseins.
that said, japan could angle for something on the level of turkey. NATO member that is active by necessity across west asia, often doing the bidding of the US, often acting due to its own priorities. turkey is routinely fucked over by the US but ends up being too important not to come out on top half of the time. look at syria. the turks fully embarked on operation depose assad at first, got fucked over at first due to buying oil from ISIS cadres (which they weren't alone in doing) but still ended up enthroning the new syrian government with the US's blessing more than 10 years later.
japan is entangled into east and southeast asia's trade flows and if the US wants it and south korea to actively fight against china (when they'd be much better served just staying out of the fray together with ASEAN), they'll need something for their troubles.
50 years ago: yes. Now, not anymore. Japan is planning to buy something like 150+ F-35s, and 40-50 of those will be the F-35B variant capable of Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing, allowing them to turn Landing Helicopter Dock type ships into mini aircraft carriers. That is the largest F-35 but outside of the USA, and the number will probably increase. Japan will look to get F-47 6th generation stealth fighters if their current 6th generation fighter programme with Europe falls through.
It's not like they're neighbors with the nation with the biggest standing army, industrial capacity, and economy in the world which is also very interested in rearmament not happening