Publication

This commentary addresses the Japanese government's reinterpretation of the country's constitution so as to allow collective self-defense and the potential for the government to pass further defense legislation. Overall, the author argues that despite Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's strong political position, the protests which followed the reinterpretation of the constitution and a decline in Abe's own approval rating will constrain any government efforts to further amend the limits placed on the military by the constitution.