Japan's Military Shift Tests Its Postwar Identity

Japan is undertaking its most significant military expansion since World War II, with record defence spending, looser arms export rules, and a growing emphasis on national security reshaping decades of postwar policy. As Tokyo cites a more challenging regional environment, particularly China's rise, critics warn the country risks moving away from its long-held identity as a "peace state." Is Japan simply adapting to a more dangerous world, or does this mark a fundamental transformation in its strategic and political identity?

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