MP-IDSA - Issue Brief S

As one of the prominent defectors from the LDP in 1993, he spent the next three years in the opposition benches before returning to the party in 1997. [...] But…China has slyly kept the firepower just under the threshold so, by international law, Japan is not able to counter with naval assets.8 It is this worldview which has led him to espouse the idea of an ‘Asian NATO’ which he claims is imperative to deter China.9 The proposed security arrangement would involve Japan, the US, Australia, Canada, the Philippines, India, France, Germany, the United Ki. [...] Unlike Abe and his acolytes, Ishiba has been on record as stating that Japan’s failure to admit historical responsibility for its conduct during the war is at the root of most present disputes with South Korea and China, while supporting the unofficial ban on visits by cabinet officials to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine.12 He has largely agreed with the characterisation of the Japanese army’s a. [...] is a Research Analyst (Retd.) is Research Fellow at Studies and Analyses, New at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for the Manohar Parrikar Institute Delhi. [...] Disclaimer: Views expressed in Manohar Parrikar IDSA's publications and on its website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Manohar Parrikar IDSA or the Government of India.