Japan's Defence Minister Calls for End to Pacifist Policy Anchored Since 1945

Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stated on June 18 that Japan must revisit the pacifist posture enshrined in its 1947 constitution. The declaration marks an explicit pivot from decades of calibrated restraint toward openly framing rearmament as necessary policy. Koizumi cited China's non-transparent military expansion as justification, though Japan has already doubled its defence budget to two percent of GDP and acquired counterstrike capabilities since 2022.