????從名義上說，日本是和個平主義國家。根據人道視野組織（Vision of Humanity）編制的全球和平指數（Global Peace Index），日本在世界最和平國家中排名第6。根據日本憲法規定，擁有傳統意義上的常備軍是不合法的。但最新發布的國防白皮書顯示，日本已經到了擁有世界上裝備最精良的“隱形”軍隊之一的程度。

????日本的武裝部隊被委婉地稱為“自衛隊”（簡稱SDF），從官方來說它是警察的延伸。

????但日本自衛隊的裝備精良程度在世界排名第六，還在去年獲得了近600億美元國防預算，絕不是由一般的防衛警察組成。“至今，日本仍享受著孤立主義者的身份，”日本前防衛顧問、現任政策研究大學院大學（National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies）安全和國際項目主任的道下德成說。“這非常便利，我們不需要卷進任何沖突。但現在美國想讓日本扮演更加主動的角色。”

????日本的執政黨自民黨（LDP）承認了這一點。“他們知道我們必須和日本經濟強國的身份相匹配，”他補充說。“美國要求我們能更主動，不是去重建軍隊，而是把現有部隊用起來。”

????由于自民黨的保守派重掌政權，其中包括鷹派首相安倍晉三，他們要求修改和平憲法，剛好迎合了美國在這個區域的意圖。日本擁有世界上訓練最有素的軍隊之一，并不是、也從來不是真正的和平主義者。道下德成說：“我們在這方面并不被動。我們支持了美國所有的戰爭，為海灣戰爭貢獻了300億美元。日本并不是在重新軍事化，我們早就軍事化了。”

????美國和日本的新統治者們想要的是一個愿意作戰的日本，配合美國軍事軸心從歐洲向亞洲的轉移，而它們在亞洲的目標直指中國。

????考慮到靠近中國海域的中日領土爭端，首相安倍會欣然接受這樣的圍堵政策，因為這意味著在中國的“騷擾”面前承諾一個“更強大”的日本。他還希望日本軍隊能夠和它的同盟國一起作戰，而美國在二戰后制定的現行日本憲法禁止這一點。

????近期美國總統奧巴馬和中國新一屆領導人進行了時間格外長的首次促膝交談，彰顯了美國戰略重心向亞太地區轉移的背景。微笑的背后，是對中國的經濟和軍事力量的崛起威脅到美國在太平洋地位的深深焦慮。奧巴馬也親自敦促習近平“縮小、而不是擴大”和日本的領土爭端。

????作為美國的同盟國，日本的現役軍隊規模比英國還大。一旦習近平拒絕順從奧巴馬，日本也會比英國更有準備地投入作戰，這一點讓美國很滿意。“日本真的極其關鍵，既充當著美國的戰略前哨，又是它的客戶，而且還是美國利益的戰略行動國，”奧克蘭大學（University of Auckland）亞太國際關系講師和日本軍事技術專家科里?華萊士說。

????一個適當再武裝的日本可能也會幫助它跳出目前的經濟大坑。去年日本松動了自行規定的武器出口禁令。這項和平外交政策的終止為它的國防承包商開辟了新的市場，給三菱重工（Mitsubishi Heavy Industries）和石川島播磨重工（Ishikawajima-Harima）這些苦苦掙扎中的軍用技術巨頭公司帶來了大好消息。據說，幾十年來它們都不得不依賴在費用上做手腳或收過高的費用來維持。出口會成為這些公司新的生命線。

????On paper, Japan is a pacifist nation. It ranks 6th on the Global Peace Index, a list tabulated by peace activists at Vision of Humanity. Japan's constitution makes illegal a traditional standing army. But a recently published defense white paper shows the extent to which the country has one of the most well-equipped "invisible" armies in the world.

????Japan's armed forces are euphemistically dubbed the "Self Defense Force" (SDF) -- officially it's an extension of the police.

????But with the world's 6th best-equipped troops and a nearly $60 billion defense budget last year, the SDF is not composed of your average beat cops. "Japan enjoyed an isolationist status until now," says Narushige Michishita, a past adviser to Tokyo on defense and now director of the security and international program at Tokyo's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. "It was very convenient; we didn't have to get involved in conflicts. But now the U.S. wants Japan to be more proactive," he says.

????Japan's ruling party, the LDP, acknowledge this. "They know we have to be commensurate with our stature as an economic superpower," he adds. "The U.S. is asking us to be more proactive in, not rearming, but making use of those arms."

????Now that the LDP's conservatives are returned to power, including their hawkish prime minister Shinzo Abe, they are demanding a change in the pacifist constitution which would chime in nicely with the U.S.'s desires in the region. Not that Japan is truly pacifist, or ever has been -- not with one of the best-trained forces in the word says Michishita. "We are not passive in that sense. We supported all the U.S. wars, contributing $30 billion to the Gulf war. Japan isn't remilitarizing -- we are already there."

????What the U.S. and the new rulers in Tokyo want is a Japan willing to fight as part of a pivot away from Europe toward Asia, by which they mean China.

????Prime minister Abe will have little trouble with such a containment policy, promising a "stronger" Japan in the face of "harassment" from China over a territorial dispute near Chinese waters. He also wants Japan's military to be able to fight alongside its allies. Something the current constitution, written by the US after WWII, prohibits.

????The U.S.'s posture rebalancing, or "pivot" toward the Asia-Pacific region, was flagged up by President Obama's extraordinarily lengthy tete-a-tete with the Chinese premiere recently. Behind the smiles are deep anxieties over China's rising economic and military strength that challenge U.S. power in the Pacific. Obama had also personally urged Xi Jinping to "de-escalate, not escalate" tensions over territorial disputes with Japan.

????The U.S. is content to have Japan, with an active military larger than the U.K.'s, prepared more readily to fight in its corner should Xi not heed the President. "Japan is truly essential, as both a strategic outpost for the U.S. military and customer for the U.S., as well as a strategic actor in its own right," says Corey Wallace, lecturer at the University of Auckland on Asia-Pacific international relations and a Japanese military technology expert.

????A properly remilitarized Japan might also help the nation out of its current economic hole. Japan last year eased its self-imposed ban on arms exports. This end of pacifist foreign policy opens up new markets for its defense contractors -- good news for struggling military tech sector giants such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Ishikawajima-Harima. For decades they had allegedly relied on billpadding and overcharging. Exports could be a new lifeline..