A nationalist Japanese prime minister announces plans to expand military ties with the U.S., triggering an alarm from the left-leaning Asahi newspaper.

"There is now the danger that, if the U.S. enters a military conflict that escalates into a full-fledged war, Japan will face a disaster beyond anybody's imagination," thunders the national daily in an editorial.

When did that happen? Not this week, when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided to reinterpret Japan's pacifist constitution and give the nation's military more leeway to work with U.S. forces in maintaining regional peace.

The Asahi editorial appeared in January 1960, days before Japan signed a new security treaty with the U.S. requiring Tokyo to secure its own protection by aiding America in its efforts to fight the Cold War in the Pacific.

Then, as now, the Asahi accused the government of acting rashly. "For this revision, so important in determining the future of Japan...will the government simply proceed with force without gaining sufficient understanding from the people?" the newspaper demanded.