I believe it is an error to lump Japan/China/Korea together because the most relevant one is China and they differ significantly from Japan and Korea.
With that caveat:
China: stressed (the government)
or
China: cautious (the people)
The government is stressed because they want to continue to be a command economy but they can see how beneficial the freedoms have been. They don't know how to maintain the balance and won't accept that freedoms will win every time in the long run.
Russia: insecure
Russia is dangerous and is our enemy because they are a huge, but 2nd tier, power. They want to be a superpower again and are stirring the pot to get there.
JMHO,
Rick
RE: The U.S. spends more than double in defense spending for NATO