Opinion: How Sanae Takaichi seeks to deliver Japan's final step to combat-ready state

The rhetoric emanating from Tokyo under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi carries a dangerous and familiar echo of the darkest stanzas in the region's past. She is moving Japan from a legally "war-capable" state to an openly "combat-ready" one. Ultimately, the critical question for the international community is this: When a state uses sophisticated legal mechanisms — not to uphold its constitution, but to systematically dismantle the core international commitments that ended a world war — what precedent does this set for global order?