Sanae Takaichi pushes historic reform to redefine Japan's military role

The prime minister has linked this security agenda to economic growth, arguing that the expansion of the defense sector can drive innovation and generate highly skilled employment. "Security and prosperity are two sides of the same coin", she noted.

Nevertheless, the path toward reform is not guaranteed. Any constitutional amendment requires the support of two-thirds in both chambers of the Diet and approval in a national referendum.

Although the coalition governs with a solid majority in the Lower House, it still needs to broaden its support in the Upper House or wait for the next elections to secure the required threshold.

In the international arena, the initiative has caused mixed reactions. The expectation is that the United States will receive positively a more active Japan in regional security, especially ahead of the upcoming meeting between Takaichi and the U.S. president. In contrast, China and North Korea have expressed concern over what they consider a militaristic shift.

For the government, however, the reform represents the culmination of a "normalization" process long debated in Japanese politics. If it is carried out, it would mark a turning point in the national identity of the country and would redefine its role as a strategic actor in the Asia-Pacific.

The Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has taken a decisive step to redefine Japan's political and strategic course after securing a historic victory in the snap elections held barely four months after she took office in October 2025.

The conservative leader dissolved the Lower House in a move considered risky by the opposition, but the result consolidated her position. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) obtained 316 of the 465 seats in the House of Representatives, the highest number achieved by a political force in the postwar era. Its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), added another 36 seats, reinforcing the parliamentary majority.

With this backing, Takaichi has announced that she will promote "as soon as possible" a national referendum to reform the Constitution, particularly the controversial Article 9, which since 1947 has enshrined the pacifist character of the country.

This article establishes that Japan renounces war as a sovereign right and prohibits the maintenance of armed forces with war potential. However, for decades the country has maintained the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), considered among the most modern in the world, although they are formally limited to defensive functions.

The LDP has defended for years the need to revise this article in order to explicitly recognize the SDF within the constitutional text and allow the full exercise of collective self-defense.

According to the government, the current interpretation creates legal ambiguities and limits Japan's ability to act alongside its allies in scenarios where there is no direct attack on its territory.

"Regional security has changed drastically", Takaichi stated in a recent speech before Parliament, where she linked constitutional reform to a broader strategy of national strengthening.

In her address, she identified China as the main source of instability in the East and South China Seas, and she also mentioned North Korea and Russia as strategic challenges.