Japan reforming its post-WWII 'pacifist' constitution amid China's belligerence on Taiwan

As China and Japan celebrate almost 50 years of the diplomatic relationship, Tokyo's Kishida-led administration is planning to exert more geopolitical pressure on the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) over the question of the Taiwan Strait. Japan is planning to rethink the post-WWII "pacifist" line as China ups its coercion and military belligerence against the self-administered island. For Japan, a democratic Taiwan presents a political and strategic frontier for its security, geopolitical experts for the think tank Appia institute said in an analysis on Friday. As tensions ratchet up tension along the 180-km wide Strait, Japan now plans to reform its policies to lift the military restraints on its Self-Defence Forces since WWII. 

Japan slowly reforming it's 'pacifist constitution'

Japan, during the post-war era, adopted a pacifist constitution that limits its military forces from acquiring weapons or using them even for a defensive posture. Although in view of a more aggressive China, that repeatedly makes its plans of taking Taiwan by force vocal, Japan plans to give up its pacifist policies as not doing so would mean that its security will be affected. To counter the Chinese military threat in the region, the Kishida government plans to double the defence budget over five years from this year’s $39.5 billion, according to the think tank. That still implies that Tokyo's defence budget will be still five times far behind China, according to the Janes’ Defence Weekly.

Japan announced an estimated $229.5 billion budget for defence in 2022, a nominal 7.1 per cent increase from the 2021 budget. Both  Taiwan and Japan have also engaged in diplomacy in recent years, and Taiwan presents a "life and death challenge" to the country, the analysts believe. And so, Japan has cut many of the shackles that restrained its Self-Defence Forces since the end of WWII. Its Self-Defence Forces participated in the Malabar naval drills, and for the first time, the US-Indonesia conducted Garuda Shield military exercise 2022 in Sumatra and Riau Islands from August 1 to 14 with Japanese forces. Participated by Australian and Singaporean contingents also, Garuda Shield military exercise took place eight months after diplomatic sparring between Jakarta and Beijing over disputed territorial waters in the South China Sea. This year, Japan’s Self-Defence Forces participated in 50 percent more joint exercises with the US military than in the same period of 202, the report suggests. Japanese forces have also strengthened the military presence in the Indo-Pacific region for peace and stability in the region.