Japan's identity shift, rethinking military power after ISIS attack
Japan's military is heavily restricted by a pacifism written into the constitution. But as Prime Minister Abe increases defence spending, his nation is reeling over the ISIS killing of two of its own. As Jordan takes swift action to avenge the ISIS killing of its captured pilot, Japan's reaction is being swept into a wider debate on multiplying its military might.
It's believed two Japanese hostages were killed by the militant group, ISIS. They were Haruna Yukawa, a security contractor who'd been kidnapped in Syria... and Kenji Goto, a well known foreign correspondent.
It's hard to underestimate the impact the deaths of the Japanese men had in their home county. Japan is a country which, since the second World War, has been constitutionally bound to pacifism. It's a core part of the country's identity, but one that was already being questioned... before this violent episode.
The Prime Minister has long argued Japan should re-build its military and beef up its presence on the global stage. He wants the decades-old ban on using Japan's military to fight overseas in support of its allies, to be overturned.
Whether these ISIS attacks will tilt public opinion in his favour remains to be seen. To help us guage the public mood, we were joined by Yuka Hayashi. She's the Japan Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. We reached her in Tokyo.
A lot has changed in the world since Japan adopted a pacifist stance more than 60 years ago. And, as we've been hearing, there are calls for the country to change with the times.
Shihoko Goto is a Senior Associate of the Asia Program at the Wilson Center, and we reached her in Tokyo.
You can't talk about the future of Japan's military without talking about its past. Before it adopted its pacifist constitution in 1951, Japan was a great military power. And that part of the country's history is present, even if just under the surface in the debates Japan's having today.
Alexis Dudden is a professor of history at the University of Connecticut, where she specializes in modern Japan. She was in Hartford.
This segment was produced by The Current's Idella Sturino, Sujata Berry and Jerry Uzielli.