As U.S.-China rivalry intensifies, Japan can no longer remain ambiguous. The Trump presidency exposed America’s raw strategic calculus and forced Japan to confront the end of postwar complacency. A call for national resolve in a new era of unavoidable choices.

January 2, 2019
I wish to believe that it is precisely in this new era, when this nation itself will be forced to make harsh choices at every turn, that the Japanese people will finally be released from the spell of the postwar order.
The following is a continuation of the previous chapter.
Trump was the right choice.
If there is any meaning to be drawn, it is that unless we learn from history the lesson that we must not be dragged along by mistaken historical perceptions, but must coldly place our national interest above all else in making decisions, we will leave grave misfortunes to future generations.
The new era we are about to enter will likely be as unpredictable as the transitions from Meiji to Taisho, Taisho to Showa, and Showa to Heisei.
In such a period of drastic change, what should we do.
In the autumn three years ago when Mr. Trump won the U.S. presidential election, I wrote an article titled, “Why Not Trump.”
That sentiment has now turned into the conviction that “Trump Was the Right Choice.”
There has never been a president who fired key cabinet members one after another, tweeted daily bursts of emotion, and placed financial calculations above trust with allied nations.
Precisely because of that, we are able to see America’s naked true intentions.
Those who still believe Japan can skillfully maneuver between the United States and China are exceedingly naïve.
Mr. Trump will eventually demand of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, “Will you choose me, or will you choose Xi Jinping.”
At that moment, the prime minister himself knows full well that an ambiguous answer will not be possible.
The era of intellectual paralysis that assumes everything will be fine so long as the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty exists will soon come to an end.
It is in this new era, when this nation itself will be compelled to make severe choices each time, that I wish to believe the Japanese people will be freed from the postwar spell.