Japan is rewriting its identity, not just its Constitution

For nearly 80 years, a single article in Japan's Constitution has defined what kind of country it wants to be. Article 9 renounces war as a sovereign right. It says Japan will never maintain military forces. It was written into the Constitution in 1947, after a devastating world war that Japan helped start, and it has never once been changed. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi wants to change that. And after winning a landslide election in February 2026, she is closer to doing so than any Japanese leader since Shinzo Abe.