Ahead of state visit, an ‘epic’ shift in Japan’s defense posture

Now, more than 150 years later, another epic change is underway, in which Japan sees its role in the world as one of maintaining universal values and protecting the international order based on the rule of law.

War in Ukraine has undermined the international order. The security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific are inseparable, and now, other developments in the Indo-Pacific have threatened the international order. Military buildups, including nuclear weapons and missiles, cross-border cyberattacks on critical civilian infrastructures, attempts to unilaterally change the status quo at sea and in the air, and information warfare have all placed Japan in its most severe security environment since World War II.

Against this challenging backdrop, Japan formulated a new national security strategy in December 2022 and decided to fundamentally reinforce its defense capabilities. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is visiting the United States this week, government ministries and agencies in Japan, sometimes noted for operating in self-contained silos, are now coordinating closely and remaking themselves for a new era.

Though it has long been true that the Japan-U.S. alliance is the cornerstone of Japan’s security policy, Japan is at the same time fully committed to defending itself. Japan will take necessary measures to spend 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense initiatives, up from 1.2 percent two years ago. In fact, Japan’s defense budget in fiscal 2024, which passed at the end of March after intense discussions at the Diet, increased by about 50 percent from fiscal 2022.

We are reshaping not only the size of the defense budget, but how the budget is spent. Japan decided to acquire counterstrike capabilities to deter armed attacks, a historic step for our country. Japan will acquire the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile system, or TLAMs, with the cooperation of the United States. By leveraging standoff defense capabilities including TLAMs, Japan will be able to conduct effective counterstrikes to prevent further attacks, while bolstering our missile defenses.

We are updating our domestic rules related to security policy as well. Japan has refrained from promoting arms exports, regardless of the destination, since the 1970s. However, this policy has proved increasingly unsuitable as security challenges have intensified.

Japan has opened a way to enable the transfer of a wider variety of defense equipment, including fighter jets co-developed with other countries. In December, Japan opted to transfer Patriot missiles to the United States to replenish the U.S. inventory. This policy change will help create a desirable security environment for Japan, while maintaining our firm and consistent position as a peace-loving nation. Now that production lines are severely stretched in various countries, Japan will seek the possibility of supporting its ally and like-minded countries in this field.

We have expanded the scope of our national security efforts into the economic field as well, to bolster our supply chain resilience, strengthen control of critical technologies and more effectively prevent unintended transfer of advanced technologies to other countries. And we intend to beef up our internal security protocols related to economic security by introducing security clearance legislation, which also will enable us to further deepen cooperation with other countries.

The threat of cyberattacks is growing rapidly. The Kishida administration is also preparing necessary legislation to strengthen defenses against cyberattacks and establish a new cybersecurity organization with strong resources and solid authority.

Our efforts should not be misinterpreted. Our goal is to strengthen deterrence and make room for genuine dialogues with countries and regions, including authoritarian regimes. Kishida’s visit to the United States this week will be a historic opportunity to underscore Japan’s commitment to improving the security environment and strengthening a free and open international order based on the rule of law.