by JAMES SIMPSON

No other nation except for Japan — aside from perhaps Germany — has in its history been so traumatized by the loss of its skies.

Japan was so badly devastated by bombing in World War II, that Tokyo has done everything it can since to ensure control over its sovereign territory and airspace — bending even the constraints of its own constitution, which forbids the maintenance of land, sea and air forces.

But the increasing Chinese flight activity along Japan’s airspace boundaries and the rapid rise of China’s unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities are pushing Japan to go one step further: to consider shooting down the Chinese drones.

Drones pose a new challenge to defending airspace. Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera raised concerns that Chinese drones flying near Japan would be unable to receive visual or radio warnings telling them to buzz off. “Drones, unlike regular airplanes, may not respond to warnings, so they represent a major risk,” he said in September 2013.

If a warning shot doesn’t work, Japan is considering forcing the drones to land or even shooting down the drones — but dealing with a rising power with a lot to prove raises its own problems.