Or there soon will be if Japan's prime minister has his way! Spurred, no doubt, by the roaring flames fom the mouth of the 'dragon' to the north, an old, not to say ancient, foe, Japan under a new-ish Right-wing government is moving towards an amendment to their constitution which would revise the American-imposed clause forbidding Japan from engaging in war. According to a report in My Way News, the Japanese people are very divided on the subject and as it would take a two thirds majority to change the constitution Prime Minister Obe is facing some difficulties. Hence, according to the report, he is intent on merely 'refining' and 'clarifying' it - yeeeeeees, quite!
The Americans, in their post-imperial mood (and as a Brit I cannot resist a sly snigger despite my apprehension!) are urging the Japs to, like, well, ya know, get a bit more war-like, know what I mean? Put simply, the Americans just do not have the 'moolah' or the inclination to do for East Asia what they did for Europe during the Cold War - bless their Yankee socks! They are willing to play back-stop, that's as in 'long way back, back-stop' but they insist that the nations concerned with Chinese expansionism should put up their own umbrellas before sheltering under the American one.
None of this, including Chinese expansionism, is exceptional but it does need to be handled with exquisite care because, like an IED, one wrong move from anyone could cause an explosion. I know nothing of the skill of East Asian foreign policy operators but I can say with some confidence that the American State Department under the leadership of one of the stupidest men ever to have been a Secretary of State is, to quote a phrase, 'not fit for purpose'; and given that it is under the command of a part-time golfer in the White House my confidence is minimal.
