Remilitarization under the guise of self-defense? Japan has been pushing to break away from the pacifist constitution set up after WWII, while refusing to renounce its militarist past. It is expected that the right-wing Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may visit a notorious shrine honoring Japanese war dead, including Class-A war criminals. This would exacerbate an already strained relationship following her refusal to retract a dangerous remark about Taiwan on November 7 in parliament. How has Japan been inching towards realizing its remilitarization ambitions? Why does Japan consider Taiwan to be crucial to its own survival? Could the current tensions escalate into more than just a war of words?