Asia experts seek Japan's lead in rules-based order after Kishida win

Asian security experts have welcomed the victory by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ruling coalition in Sunday's House of Councilors election, saying Japan's political stability and leadership are vital for shoring up a rules-based international order being challenged by countries such as China and Russia. Citing Russia's aggression in Ukraine, China's increased assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific and North Korea's nuclear and missile development, the experts either expressed support for or did not oppose Kishida's calls for boosting Japan's defense capabilities and amending the Constitution, including adding a reference to the Self-Defense Forces in the war-renouncing Article 9. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites. If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see this support page.