Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, “Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick: Japan tilts right,” 02 February 2014, USA Today

… Today, Kishi’s grandson, Shinzo Abe, is prime minister and is doing to Japan what Attorney General John Mitchell predicted Richard Nixon would do to the U.S. — drive the country “so far to the right you’re not even going to recognize it.” …

Last year, Abe’s efforts to tilt Japan rightward began cautiously. His previous stint as prime minister had run aground when he moved too quickly to impose his nationalist agenda. This time, he focused first on reinvigorating Japan’s sclerotic economy. The strategy worked, and his approval ratings rose. He also issued shrill warnings about threats posed by a militarily modernizing China and an erratic, blustering North Korea. Only then, in recent weeks, did he and his right-wing allies train their sights on their real quarry — demolishing the last vestiges of Japan’s postwar pacifism.

His recent actions speak volumes: increasing defense spending for the first time in a decade; purchasing advanced weapons systems; adopting a new defense posture; meeting Chinese belligerence in the East China Sea with belligerence of his own; pushing constitutional reforms that restrict freedom of assembly and speech; creating a U.S.-style national security council; easing restrictions on Japanese overseas arms sales; and promoting “patriotic” (i.e. false and sanitized) interpretations of history in Japanese schools and textbooks. …

But Abe’s next, and ultimate step, will be even more controversial. He is determined to repeal Article 9 so that Japan can build a full-fledged national army and participate in military adventures alongside the U.S.

President Obama has turned a blind eye to Abe’s saber-rattling because Japan’s militarization meshes with his own plans to contain China. Obama’s Asia “pivot” has heightened tension throughout the region. Obama has pushed China’s neighbors to buy more arms, conducted joint military exercises, increased U.S. troop deployments and begun rebalancing the U.S. fleet and Air Force away from Europe and the Middle East toward the Pacific. He has made it clear that the U.S. will come to Japan’s aid in any military confrontation with China over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, a largely manufactured crisis. …

Read the full article here.