Japan Shouldn’t Trade Its Proven Soft Power for Militarism

Sanae Takaichi risks squandering Japan’s strategic capital

By: B A Hamzah

Photo from Yonhap

Count me as one of many Asians who view Japan’s plan to take up arms again and abandon its soft power, which has played an integral role in keeping the peace in the region for the last 70 years, as a bad omen. For many Asians, especially in China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, Japan’s wartime legacy is not history but a…