She embodies a vision of Japan as a more assertive military and diplomatic power, advancing the concept of “proactive pacifism” championed by Abe to loosen the constraints of Japan’s pacifist constitution and expand the role of the Self-Defense Forces. That momentum was broken only after Japan’s defeat in World War II, when the victors imposed a new order: the dissolution of the Imperial Navy and the adoption of a pacifist constitution. His vision of the “last man” as history’s endpoint has become reality: individuals who appear fulfilled on the surface, but are internally hollowed out, marked by a kind of existential melancholy born from the absence of struggle, risk, transcendence, or the desire to leave a mark on history.
Author: Riccardo Ficicchia, Real Clear Wire
Published at: 2025-12-20 22:16:30
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