Australia’s response to Japan’s rhetoric has been framed as a test of loyalty, but the outrage is largely media-driven. Caution in foreign policy is not betrayal – it is a rational defence of national interest.

When Japan adjusts its strategic language and China responds, the region typically braces for a familiar diplomatic turbulence – sharp statements, historical weight, World War II war crimes, mostly predictable moves. Regional powers, including the United States, tend to sidestep these moments with ambiguity: a press secretary nod here, a communique there, nobody panics.

But in Australia, such episodes are swiftly re-scripted as Shakespearean trials of loyalty – and in the latest act, it’s Anthony Albanese in the dock, cast as the brooding traitor who failed to rise to his democratic duty.

All it took was a theatrical flourish from Japan’s former ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, who appeared on the pages of The Australian like a spurned friend at a dinner party, solemnly asking: “ Where is Australia in Japan’s moment of need?”

A follow-up article promptly featured Shadow Defence Minister Angus Taylor, and former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, accusing Labor of “

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