# Why Japan Passes the Buck: Japan’s Military Buildup Faces Resistance

- Link: https://instituteforglobalaffairs.org/2023/05/why-japan-passes-the-buck-japans-military-buildup-faces-resistance/
- Published: 2023-05-23T20:56:15-04:00

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Over the weekend, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosted the annual G7 summit
in Hiroshima. Nuclear proliferation, Russia’s war on Ukraine, and the rise of China
dominated conversation between the leaders of the world’s most advanced democratic
economies. Kishida hosting the summit is significant: Japan is reinventing its role
on the global stage, what [TIME Magazine](https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/politics-government/20230511-109051/)
recently called “Japan’s Choice.” The country must choose between maintaining its
decades-old pacifist foreign policy or pursuing a more assertive role. [This week](https://www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org/episodes/s4ep17),
the Institute for Global Affairs’ [Mark Hannah](https://twitter.com/professorhannah?lang=en)
sits down with Japan security experts Yuki Tatsumi and Professor Tom Le to unpack
the importance of the US-Japan relationship and discuss why, despite Tokyo and Washington’s
desire for a more assertive Japan, cultural and demographic factors complicate the
buildup of Japan’s military.

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**This podcast episode includes references to the Eurasia Group Foundation, now 
known as the Institute for Global Affairs.**