Until a year ago, when the government of Shinzo Abe passed controversial legislation reinterpreting Japan’s constitutional ban on its armed forces taking part in foreign conflicts, its UN peacekeepers were even forbidden to fight to protect themselves. Now, the Self-Defence Forces may take part in “collective self-defence” with allies. The first tentative steps begin this week: the SDF will carry out exercises for rescuing UN staff under attack, and jointly defending peacekeepers’ barracks that come under fire. Meanwhile the new defence minister, Tomomi Inada, will request a record 5.16 trillion yen ($51 billion) defence budget for next year, including for stealth fighters and missile defence. Ms Inada has an offensive habit of denying the militarist aggression that first led to the imposition of a pacifist constitution, following Japan’s defeat in 1945. Still, the threats from an assertive China and a nuclear North Korea are real enough today.