Congrats to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on her landslide victory in the elections to the nation’s House of Representatives! In the polls held last Sunday, the people of the country voted for the Takaichi- led Liberal Democratic Party in 316 constituencies out of a total of 465.

With the combined strength of current coalition partners in the government, the LDP holds close to three-quarters of support in the House now.  It is hence strong enough to push forward the legislation of its choice. One calculates the Takaichi government may now focus on the measures it is believed to be interested in initiating on the fronts of the country’s defense and diplomacy.

It may raise the country’s defense spending beyond two per cent of GDP and ease restrictions on its arms exports. It may move forward towards its goals of constitutional revision. Premier Takaichi may focus better on deepening her engagements with foreign leaders, including US President Donald J. Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

She may specifically move fast forward towards realizing her mentor and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s famous 2007 Indo-Pacific vision. Regrettably, this vast geographical region still lacks a collective security mechanism in tune with the Abe vision. The Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue (QUAD) is too vague to be considered as constituting any effective security architecture for the region. It consists of only Japan, India, the USA and Australia. Some of the important democracies, such as the Philippines, South Korea, New Zealand, and Taiwan, are out of the QUAD.

One thinks Japan could play a very positive role in canvassing for creating an adequate security architecture in the Indo-Pacific today. It can reach out to almost all-important nations in the region. It has had fine relations with its partners in the QUAD. Japan can reach out to the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and New Zealand and rope them in an adequate, inclusive Indo-Pacific security architecture.

Japan has excellent ties with all these nations today. During the recent talk between Philippines Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro and her Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi in Tokyo, the two nations signed a deal to allow their armed forces to share fuel, food and services. Premier Takaichi and South Korean President Lee are having “shuttle diplomacy” to foster advanced cooperation between their nations.

Prime Minister Takaichi is committed to the defense of Taiwan. Recently, she has declared that Tokyo could activate its self-defense force if Beijing attacked Taipei. As for Japan’s ties with New Zealand, since they established diplomatic relations in 1952, they have flourished in multiple dimensions. Japan today is a major trading partner of New Zealand. Both nations are liberal democracies. They are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Once, former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described their relationship as the linchpin of security in the Indo-Pacific.

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