With Shinzo Abe commencing his third term as Japan's prime minister, the year of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II will be pivotal.

To begin with, emboldened by the mandate in the Dec 14 election, Abe is likely to add more muscle to Japan's defense forces and build it into a full-fledged military.

Central to this task will be a reinterpretation of (or amendment to) Japan's pacifist Constitution. Article 9 of the Constitution says Japan chooses specifically not to exercise the right to collective self-defense.