The purported beheading by Islamic State (IS) of two Japanese journalists, and its warning that Japan would be one of its military targets in future, pose a challenge to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government. Its impact would perhaps mark a critical shift in Japanese foreign policy and public opinion.

Japan has largely been insulated from international terrorism in the past decade and radical Islam has little or almost nil hold in the country. Japan's pacifism is embodied in its Constitution of 1946, through which it has renounced war and outlawed belligerent responses to international disputes.  Read more