2026-08-07
54 分钟As the world is about to mark the 81st anniversary of the end of the Second World War,
Japan, a defeated country in that war, is rolling out a series of security and military initiatives.
For many, these moves evoke wartime memories and raise concerns about the post-war international order.
Why is Japan accelerating its military build-up after decades of maintaining an exclusively defensive posture?
What kind of military power is it seeking to become, and should Asia be worried?
Hello and welcome to the panel discussion of World Today.
I'm Do Hongyu in Beijing.
To listen to this episode again or to catch up on previous episodes,
you can download our podcast by searching World Today.
Japan has stepped up its military and security agenda in recent months.
It's released a new defense white paper highlighting the development of long-range strike capabilities
and new forms of warfare.
It's also established a centralized intelligence bureau,
dismantling post-war intelligence governance rules that were based on diverse checks and balances.
At the same time, Tokyo is considering opening discussions on nuclear policy without taboos, including whether
to revise the three non-nuclear principles that have guided Japan since the end of the Second World War.
These developments have sparked debate at home and drawn close attention abroad.
Now, for more on this, we're joined by Sultan Hauli, a retired Air Force officer and author in Pakistan,
Dr. Nipei Mei, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the International Islamic University, Malaysia.
And Dr. Liu Kuang Yu, researcher at Institute of Taiwan Studies and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.