The international community has entered ¡°a new era of crisis,¡± Japan¡¯s recently installed defense chief said Monday, pointing to a drastic need for Tokyo to rethink its security approach amid growing threats from China, Russia and North Korea.

¡°The international community as a whole has entered the most trying time since the end of the previous war, and the existing order is being seriously challenged,¡± Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Monday in an interview. ¡°We believe that we are entering a new era of crisis.¡±

Pacifist Japan has found itself in a precarious security position, with China¡¯s massive military buildup advancing, North Korea¡¯s nuclear and missile programs continuing to grow, and Russia¡¯s bloody war in Ukraine offering lessons in the fragility of the status quo.