A Question for Asia: Is Japan Back?

May 28, 2014 Topic: Security Region: Japan

A Question for Asia: Is Japan Back?

"Japan’s return to 'normalcy' has been long awaited and welcomed by those of us who have hoped for Japan to step up in the security realm and punch at its real weight. No one, however, is cheering for Japan to throw the first punch."

Richard J. Samuels is Ford International Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His most recent book, 3.11: Disaster and Change in Japan, was published last year by Cornell University Press. This paper was prepared for the 28th Asia-Pacific Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2-4 June 2014.

Image: Flickr/APEC 2013/CC by 2.0