New Delhi, April 25 -- This week's headline of note comes from Asia - Japan, to be precise.

In a radical break from its post-World War II past, Japan announced its biggest overhaul of defence export rules, scrapping long-standing restrictions on overseas arms sales and opening the way for exports of warships, missiles and other platforms.

The move aims to strengthen Japan's defence industrial base. But it also marks Tokyo's decisive step away from the pacifist restraints that shaped its post-war security policy.

Though debate over revising Japan's pacifist stance has simmered for years, the latest decision comes amid two major geopolitical shifts.

First, the growing unreliability of the US in providing the security cover it once promi...