Japan is finally ready to do some heavy military lifting as our ally. Given China’s continuous belligerence, and North Korea’s rabidity, it is very good news indeed, not only for the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, but also to others targeted by Beijing.
As a bonus, the Japanese are also quite adversarial toward Russia. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that “Ukraine today may be Asia tomorrow … Unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force are not acceptable.”