After seventy years of low-profile defense activities, Japan is poised to reinvent its national security posture.

Japan has not only oriented its own self-defense forces toward more practical activities in recent years, but has also cultivated security partnerships with countries including Australia, India, and Vietnam.

Further efforts to reform Japan’s forces will likely come up against Article 9 of Japan’s constitution, under which the country renounces the right to maintain a military and settle disputes by force.

Will the perceived threats be enough for President Shinzo Abe to gain popular support for reforming Article 9?