This month, President Donald Trump threatened China with the prospect of a remilitarised Japan if Beijing did not do more to push North Korea to end its nuclear and missile programs. Calling Japan a "warrior nation," Trump noted in an interview that he had warned China "you're going to have yourself a big problem with Japan pretty soon if you allow this to continue with North Korea."

But are the Japanese nascent "warriors"? Is the scourge of resurgent militarism about to reinfect the Land of the Rising Sun? The answer to both questions is no. Although moves are afoot in Japan to turn its Self-Defence Forces into something approaching a normal military, the idea that Japan risks a return to a "warrior nation" is ludicrous. Indeed, there remains a vast gap between the Japan of today and a Japan that might be able to defend itself.