The Abe administration took another step in the same direction when it railroaded controversial new security legislation through the Diet in 2015.
If Japan wants to move further along this path and make the bilateral security treaty a “symmetrical” pact that allows the Japanese and U.S. forces to fight side by side against the common enemy, it needs to amend Article 9. But that would not be the right choice for Japan.
The principal security challenge facing the alliance between Japan and the United States is the threat posed by China’s rapid military buildup and aggressive naval expansion.
