Japan takes leading role in building Indo-Pacific security architecture
Sarah Chan
Through record defense spending, new counterstrike capabilities, deeper alliance integration, and leadership in economic and technological security, Japan increasingly serves as a force multiplier for regional deterrence and stability, experts say.
Tokyo’s evolution to a more active operational and strategic security partner comes amid China’s rapid military expansion, North Korea’s ongoing nuclear threat and the Russia-Ukraine war, which represent a “triple deterioration of the security environment,” according to Hiroyasu Harada, chief analyst at Japan’s Network for Security Business and Technology. The result is a shift “from a posture of alliance dependency to one of operational parity and shared burden within the regional deterrence framework,” he told FORUM.
More security spending is central to the transition, with the nation’s 2026 defense budget reaching a record $66.5 billion. The increased investment is spurring transformation of Japan’s defense-industrial base from startups to major contractors.
“Japan’s defense budget increases and acquisition of counterstrike capabilities will not, by themselves, reverse the regional military balance,” Harada said. “However, they hold profound significance in qualitatively transforming the structure of deterrence in the Indo-Pacific … to a distributed, networked deterrence among allies.”
Japan’s new long-range strike capabilities are reshaping regional deterrence calculations. For example, the domestically developed Type 25 surface-to-ship, guided-missile system and the planned procurement of about 400 United States-developed Tomahawk cruise missiles expand operational options for the longtime Japan-U.S. alliance.
Such assets raise the costs and complexity for potential adversaries, Harada said. Meanwhile, the establishment of Japan’s Joint Operations Command in 2025 and upgrades to U.S. Forces Japan have accelerated decision-making and improved coordination.
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The moves mark Japan’s transition “to an active operational partner — one that can sustain and strengthen alliance readiness on its own initiative,” Harada said.
Beyond the Japan-U.S. alliance, Tokyo increasingly is helping build multilateral security networks and a broader deterrence architecture. The Quad partnership, which includes Australia, India, Japan and the U.S., has developed into an operational framework focusing on maritime security, critical technologies and cybersecurity. Simultaneously, Japan is negotiating to become the first non-NATO participant in the 32-member security alliance’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic.
Defense exports are another key element of Tokyo’s strategic transformation. In April 2026, Japan implemented the most significant overhaul of its defense export regulations in decades, permitting sales of warships, missiles and other assets to approved countries.
The changes reflect the reality that “no single country can now protect its own peace and security alone,” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in May 2026.
Sarah Chan is a FORUM contributor reporting from Singapore.
