Tokyo
Riots in China, deepening war in Ukraine, continuing upheavals in Iran: It鈥檚 been a dramatic week in world affairs. But the quiet revolutions sometimes matter more. Japan is one of the stablest countries on earth, and there are no crowds in the streets as bureaucrats shuffle papers and write reports.
Nevertheless, what is in those reports will have a massive impact on world politics鈥攁nd could well determine the outcome of the US-China competition.
骋别谤尘补苍测鈥檚&苍产蝉辫;Zeitenwende, or historical turning point鈥攖he abandonment of appeasement as the basis of Russia policy and a shift toward greater military spending鈥攈as received more attention. But as I learned on a recent visit to Tokyo, the shifts taking place in Japan go further and rest on a wider consensus than anything happening in Berlin.