Japan is a pacifist country - at least that is what its constitution says. The wording, introduced under the occupying forces after World War Two, seems unequivocal: “the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation”. 



But new laws championed by conservative prime minister Shinzo Abe introduce a broader interpretation of what the constitution does, and does not, permit. Abe calls it “proactive pacifism”. Opponents say the laws are “war bills”, betraying the pacifism that has, for many, become central to Japanese national identity. There have been dramatic scenes in parliament with opposition MPs in tears. The majority of the public are opposed and people have taken to the streets in their tens of thousands. So is Japan abandoning pacifism? 



(Photo: Sumiteru Taniguchi. Credit: AP)

Is Japan Abandoning Pacifism?

The United States, UK, Israel and now Pakistan all use drone strikes to kill. In September a general in the Pakistani army announced their first ever use of an armed drone. It was directed at a terrorist compound, he said, and killed three. Meanwhile the US is thought to have launched a secret drone campaign to kill so-called Islamic State fighters in Syria. Armed drones are the counter-terrorism weapon of choice, capable of killing militants from a distance and without putting military personnel in harm’s way. But critics question how far they bolster wider attempts to defeat terrorism. So, in this edition of The Inquiry, we’re asking: do drone strikes work?



Presenter: Helena Merriman



(Photo: Reaper flies without pilot, Credit: Getty Images)

Do Drone Strikes Work?

The CIA has just released 2,500 top secret presidential briefings from the 1960s. The President’s Daily Brief – or ‘PDB’ – is the US intelligence agencies’ best assessment of global threats, delivered directly to the President every morning. The CIA’s director, John Brennan, has described the PDB as “among the most sensitive and classified documents in all of our government”. The decision to release some PDBs, even documents relating to events many decades ago, was not taken lightly. And the briefings highlight an almost impossible dilemma – one still faced today by every Director of National Intelligence: what should, and should not, be said? The President can’t absorb everything; there has to be a choice.  In this edition of The Inquiry we explore the relationship between the intelligence, the advisors and the president.  What does the President need to know?



Presenter: Helena Merriman



(Photo: Detroit crisis meeting, Credit: LBJ library Photo/Yoichi Okamoto)

What Does the President Need to know?

Russia’s intervention in Syria caught the world by surprise. Moscow gave Washington just one hour’s notice before it began its aerial bombardment. Russia claims its jets are attacking the so-called Islamic State. But reports suggest the Russian pilots are in fact targeting groups linked to the Free Syrian Army - the main opposition to Syria’s President Assad, who is a Russian ally. It is the first time President Putin has deployed force beyond the borders of the former USSR and another dramatic step in his increasingly assertive foreign policy. But Josh Earnest, President Obama’s press secretary, has described Russia’s action as motivated by “weakness”. Is he right? 



(Photo: President Putin at the UN General Assembly. Credit: Getty Images)

Is Russia Vulnerable?

Oil accounts for around 75% of Nigeria’s economy, but no-one knows how much the country produces or refines. It means corruption is rife. Hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil are stolen every day, at each level of the supply chain. 

It is a problem that has cost the Nigerian economy billions of dollars, and weakened its public services and infrastructure. Schools and hospitals are paid for, but never built; citizens are forced to pay bribes for basic services.

Many believe Nigeria’s new president, Muhammadu Buhari, is the man to end this decades-old problem. He says he will do it, and has taken personal control of the oil ministry. But it’s a huge task he has set himself. So, can Nigeria end oil corruption?



(Photo: Buhari inauguration, Credit: AP)

Can Nigeria End Oil Corruption?

Rhinos are in trouble. The ancient sumatran rhino has just been declared extinct in Malaysia, following the fate of black rhinos in West Africa in 2011. Central Africa's northern white rhino has been reduced to four - yes, four - animals, and conservationists say the more plentiful southern white rhinos are under unprecedented attack from poachers eager to sell the horns to Asian and Arab buyers. This week The Inquiry hears four very different answers to the question, How do you save the rhino? Experts include Namibia’s first female dangerous game professional hunter and one of China’s biggest celebrities and campaigner, Yao Ming.



(Image: Two Rhinos; Credit: Getty Images)

How Do You Save the Rhino?

Mohammed Akhlaq’s murder shocked India. A mob broke into his house last month and beat him to death. They believed a rumour that Mr Akhlaq, a Muslim, had broken a Hindu taboo by slaughtering a cow. We find out how the cow became such a political animal and look at whether Hindu nationalists are feeling bolder in today’s India. 



(Image: An Indian woman sprinkles yoghurt paste onto a cow's forehead. Credit:Getty Images)

Why Was Mohammed Akhlaq Killed?

Experts analyse a pressing question from the news.