NEWS & EVENTS

On Thursday, October 31st, Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies hosted a book talk by Dr. Sheila Smith, a senior fellow for Japan Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. A leading expert on Japanese politics and foreign policy, Smith gave the attending students and scholars a preview of her latest book, Japan Rearmed: The Politics of Military Power.

In her new release, Smith argues that Japan, faced with North Korean ballistic missile launches and a rapidly strengthening Chinese military, as well as an increasingly unpredictable U.S. presence in the Asia Pacific, has taken a noticeably more assertive approach to its national security in recent decades. Chiefly, the nation has begun considering significant changes to its interpretation of Article 9 of its Constitution, which renounces war and forbids the maintenance of air, land, and sea forces. However, these changes have not been without controversy, with thousands of protestors taking to the streets in 2015 to demonstrate against the government’s decision to allow Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to participate in overseas missions. Japan’s struggle to balance its historical concerns with its current security priorities, Smith asserts, will be one of the country’s primary challenges in coming years.