Japan can no longer afford strategic confusionIf Japan wants to preserve its strategic autonomy, it must explain convincingly why it cannot and should not fall under China’s influenceBy Taniguchi TomohikoIt is not too dramatic to say that Japan has only 12 years left to secure its future. A crucial first step is to recognize that Japan’s post-World War II strategic framework has become obsolete. While the principles Japan upheld throughout the post-war period were not inherently mistaken, restraint now carries growing strategic costs. The US, Japan’s strategic guarantor since the end of the war, is no longer the country it once was. The result has been a narrowing of debate over Japan’s strategic choices, delaying necessary decisions.
