Geopolitical Setback for U.S. in Japan

The Liberal Democratic Party's electoral loss in Japan is a big blow to the U.S.'s geopolitical position in Asia, because President Shinzo Abe has been a bright spot as our ally.

His willingness to support the U.S.'s battles is admirable, but his push to amend the constitution would have strengthened our hand in the region. Currently, their constitution only allows the maintenance of a military for defense. Heavy spending over the years has built a military as capable as any in the world (I have seen their Navy personally and it is capable of a lot more than defense) and President Abe wanted to reserve the right to use it.

The thrashing that LDP took at the polls will not only make Abe a lame duck (and according to this article he will be pressured to resign), but it will nix any future talk about changing the constitution. His successor would have to be mentally ill to pursue such a course after this election. Thats a setback for us because A free Japanese military would have assisted the U.S. in containing China through the mere implicit threat of force. China knows they could not compete with the Japanese military, more specifically their Navy, which would make them think twice about ill advised conquests.

Maybe next decade.