Japan’s defense R&D center aims to boost innovation, exports

Felix Kim

Defense technology initiatives in Japan will be boosted by the much-anticipated launch of a research and development (R&D) center in 2024. Modeled on institutions such as the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the center will incorporate public and private sector expertise to promote innovation in Japan’s defense sector.

In addition to playing a central role in developing technologies such as automated and uncrewed vehicles, it could also promote defense exports and collaboration with Allies and Partners, analysts say.

The center finished recruiting its workforce of about 100 in April 2024, with about half of the employees coming from the private sector and universities, Japan’s Nikkei Asia magazine reported. Projects will focus on using artificial intelligence (AI) and image-recognition technology to create autonomous vehicles capable of functioning in complete darkness, as well as on developing submarine-detection capabilities that use subatomic particles and electromagnetic waves. Hypersonic weapons development also could be a priority.

The R&D center was envisioned in 2021 to integrate state-of-the-art civilian technologies and develop groundbreaking equipment to transform warfare strategies, according to Japan’s 2023 Defense White Paper.

“That’s where a DARPA-like institution plays a big role because they’d be able to tap into their own expertise, their own technology, to be able to build these advanced systems or just be creative and think about new solutions to modern warfare,” Dr. Jeffrey Hornung, a defense analyst with the Rand Corp., told FORUM.

He said the center will provide Japan’s defense industry with innovative projects to pursue, while supporting traditional legacy systems. Such support is seen as crucial for the industry and could reduce reliance on foreign military procurements and spur growth in defense exports.

Hornung said that Japanese defense planners recently told him they are impressed by South Korea’s rise as an international arms supplier and want their industry to make forays into the global marketplace.

Japan recently revised its defense export rules, enabling the export of complete defense equipment manufactured under foreign licenses. In line with Japan’s Constitution, the policy change does not allow domestically manufactured arms to be sent to warring nations.

With the rise of technology and automation, along with weapons systems that are still in conceptual stages or not yet fieldable, collaboration among companies and governments in like-minded countries will be essential.

“If the future of warfare is as complex and difficult as people say it’s going to be, then, of course, you’re going to want to collaborate with your closest allies,” Hornung said.

The Defense White Paper connects the center’s launch to the need for accelerated systems development, especially for strategically important equipment and technologies in emerging fields, including transformative technologies such as AI. The white paper also highlights the potential of hyper-velocity gliding projectiles in defending Japan’s remote islands.

Hypersonic weapons are likely to be discussed at upcoming meetings among the defense and foreign ministers of Japan and the U.S., Hornung said.

“That seems to be the sweet spot because nobody has that technology,” he said. “Nobody really has a lock on that and there’s a lot of room for creative thinking. And so that seems to be a place that they’re looking at.”

Felix Kim is a FORUM contributor reporting from Seoul, South Korea.