If they rearmed and started taking a more active role in the region's security I can see that happening, especially if they become less confident in the willingness/ability of the US to defend them. They know full well that the Chinese want to wipe them off the face of the earth and I can see them teaming up with other countries in the region that have similar problems. Right now Japan has a China problem. They'll have an even bigger China problem if Winnie the Pooh manages to gobble up Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam.
If they rearmed and started taking a more active role in the region's security I can see that happening, especially if they become less confident in the willingness/ability of the US to defend them. They know full well that the Chinese want to wipe them off the face of the earth and I can see them teaming up with other countries in the region that have similar problems. Right now Japan has a China problem. They'll have an even bigger China problem if Winnie the Pooh manages to gobble up Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam.