In 2022, Japan laid the foundations for a new set of defence and security policies that shed the self-imposed post-World War II constraints on its military. In December 2022, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government revised the three key documents, including the National Security Strategy, after months of debate, unveiling a tougher approach to the region. This shift was shaped by the need to confront the North Korean missile threat, China’s increased muscle flexing, and a sense of vulnerability arising out of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of that year. “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow,” Kishida had said in June. In addition, the first Trump administration’s demands also bred a sense of vulnerability, as Trump publicly criticised the existing US-Japan security pact as being one-sided and demanded that Japan increase its defence spending and financial contribution to the cost of US troops stationed there.
Japan’s Rearmament: Technology, Deterrence, and Alliance Dependence
