The current Japanese Constitution, which Emperor Hirohito signed into law after World War II, was essentially imposed on Japan by the United States. As the occupying power, the US sought to demilitarize and democratize its defeated foe. One key element in that agenda was Article 9, which bars Japan from having armed forces, with the exception of a small self-defense force.

Now, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his government are pushing to amend Article 96, which requires a two-thirds majority of the Diet (Parliament) to approve constitutional amendments before a public referendum. Abe wants a simple majority to suffice. Once constitutional amendments are easier to push through, Article 9 and its limits on Japan's military power are likely to be the first provisions to get the ax.

All of this talk about reconstituting Japan's army and navy is making neighbors like South Korea and China nervous. As Japan's economy stagnates, nationalism may grow there once again - a possibility that fills the other nations in the region with anxiety and bitter memories.

Sectarian clashes between members of the Buddhist majority and the Muslim minority in western Myanmar (Burma) have claimed hundreds of lives over the past year. Yesterday, the Dalai Lama, the world's most famous Buddhist leader, spoke out against the violence - especially that perpetrated or encouraged by Buddhist monks in Myanmar.

The Dalai Lama, who lives in India since he was forced into exile from Tibet in 1959, told an audience at the University of Maryland: "I pray for (the monks) to think of the face of Buddha." The Muslim Rohingya minority in Myanmar makes up only about five percent of the population, and attacks on them have increased since the government began democratizing reforms in 2011.

Photo by Paula Bronstein / Getty Images.

Last Wednesday, April 24, Syrian troops reportedly fired mortar shells at the minaret of the Great Mosque in Aleppo, Syria, completely destroying the 11th century tower. The Great Mosque is a part of the Ancient City of Aleppo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and was built during the Umayyad Caliphate. The minaret that was destroyed last week was added during the Abbasid Caliphate's reign, c. 1090.

This senseless destruction comes less than a week after troops brought down the minaret of the 7th century Omari Mosque in Daraa, in southern Syria. Government troops appear to be targeting these historic sites because the Syrian opposition forces have used mosques as rallying points in the on-going Syrian Civil War. It's a disgrace that these monuments that have stood for so long, even surviving the Crusades, are now being blown to pieces by Bashar al-Assad's tottering regime.

Photo of the Great Mosque's minaret by Michele Falzone / Getty Images.

Violence has broken out once more in the Xinjiang region of western China, home to the Uighur ethnic minority. At least 21 people have been killed in what appears to have been a feud between a prominent Uighur family and local Han Chinese authorities.

Beijing has encouraged masses of Han Chinese to emigrate to Xinjiang, which Uighur activists call East Turkestan. Chinese in the region often get the best jobs, and so many have flooded in that the Uighurs now make up only 45% of the population in their own semi-autonomous region.

Photo by China Photos / Getty Images.