A New Day for Japanese Defense

Japan strengthens its national defense architecture amid a changing security environment

The dramatically changing security environment in the Indo-Pacific and the rest of the world has prompted Japan to update its national security responsibilities. The peace-loving characteristics Japan has displayed since World War II will remain, according to Japan’s National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPG), as the country embarks on a new direction to expand its military capabilities to ensure Japan survives and thrives against any threat and its citizens and sovereignty remain protected. 

The guidelines, published December 18, 2018, provide insight into how the government and the Japanese Ministry of Defense intend to accomplish that. “Japan, amid the dramatically changing security environment, needs to fundamentally strengthen its national defense architecture with which to protect, by exerting efforts on its own accord and initiative, life, person and property of its national, territorial land, waters and airspace, and its sovereignty and independence, thereby expanding roles Japan can fulfill,” the NDPG said.

Takeshi Iwaya, who became Japan’s defense minister in October 2018, spoke about the latest NDPG during a visit to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., in January 2019.

Iwaya highlighted three basic principles of the NDPG.

First, Japan will improve its posture for national defense. “As a sovereign nation, we will continue to make efforts to proactively ensure our security on our own accord. In doing so, we will directly contribute to a stronger Japan-U.S. alliance.” 

Second, Japan will further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance. “We will accelerate our effort in accordance with the guidelines for Japan-U.S. defense cooperation to boost the ability of the alliance to deter and counter threats.”

Third, under the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, Japan will strategically enhance cooperation with countries sharing universal values and security interests. “The Japan-U.S. alliance will be positioned as a cornerstone in promoting such cooperation. In order to improve Japan’s defense posture, we have introduced a multi-domain defense force as a concept to further realize our effective defense capability. The key to integrating this multi-domain defense force lies in the development of our cross-domain operations.”

Executing these principles remains critical to Japan’s deterrence and response to superior threats. Successfully adhering to these NDPG concepts will enable Japan to overcome any deficiency in individual domains, Iwaya added.

“To this end, Japan will emphasize efforts to acquire and strengthen our capabilities in the new domains of space, cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum,” Iwaya said. “Also, as for capabilities in the traditional domains, we will strive to establish a maritime and air superiority as well as strengthen our capabilities … of firepower and comprehensive air and missile defense. Ultimately, our aim is to organically integrate capabilities in all domains, both in new domains and traditional domains, to generate synergy and amplify the overall strengths.”

During the next five years, Japan will “significantly upgrade” its defense capability and work to further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance based on guidelines for defense cooperation, Iwaya said. “The international security environment our alliance is currently facing is not easy, as you know. But I am confident that the direction of Japan and the United States are more aligned than ever.”

The security environment surrounding Japan is changing at “extremely high speeds,” the NDPG stated. Changes in the international balance of power are accelerating and becoming more complex, increasing uncertainty over the existing order.

“In addition, rapid expansion in the use of new domains, which are space, cyberspace and electromagnetic spectrum, is poised to fundamentally change the existing paradigm of national security,” the NDPG said, “which has prioritized responses in traditional, physical domains, which are land, sea and air.”

Developing a Multi-Domain Force

Japan’s target spending on defense during the next five years is estimated at U.S. $245.3 billion — an 11% increase, or U.S. $25 billion more than budgeted during the previous midterm defense program, which sets the defense spending on procurement for a five-year period. Iwaya said the record spending is needed to realize capability enhancements outlined in the NDPG. 

“This shows our strong determination toward our national defense,” he said.

By fiscal year 2022, Japan will establish a space domain mission unit to ensure superiority in the use of space at all stages, from peacetime to contingencies, Iwaya said. By fiscal year 2023, Japan will establish a cyber defense unit under the command of the defense minister.

“This will domestically enhance cyber defense capabilities, including those to disrupt opponents’ use of cyberspace in its armed attack against Japan,” Iwaya said. “Furthermore, in regard to the strengthening of our capabilities in the traditional domains, we will prioritize its implementation to effectively deal with armed attacks from aircraft, ships and missiles against Japan.”

Japan’s cabinet agreed in 2018 to increase Japan’s order of U.S. F-35 aircraft from 42 to 147, to include 63 F-35As and 42 F-35Bs. The F-35Bs are the U.S. Marine Corps’ short takeoff and vertical landing versions of the aircraft. Most of the F-35As will be assembled locally in Nagoya and delivered by the end of fiscal year 2022, the online magazine The Diplomat reported.

The defense minister said Japan will proceed with procurement of standoff missiles to protect threats against ships or landing forces. The government is also conducting research and development into hypervelocity grinding projectiles to defend its remote islands.

“Through these developments, we aim to construct a defense posture sufficient to counter any types of threat in order to defend Japanese territory at all times,” Iwaya said. “We will try to do this under unified command and control, combining all forces.”

Japan developed its first marine unit since World War II, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s (JGSDF) Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, to enhance interdiction capabilities on its remote islands, the NDPG said. JGSDF introduced its own amphibious assault vehicles and certified its amphibious assault force during Iron Fist 2019. 

Threats from China, North Korea and Russia

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) engages in unilateral, coercive attempts to alter the status quo based on its own assertions that are incompatible with the existing international order, the NDPG said. In the East China Sea, for example, the PRC has expanded and intensified its military activities at sea and in the air. Near the Senkaku Islands, part of Japan’s territory, PRC personnel continue to violate Japanese waters despite protests against Chinese naval ships sailing nearby.

“Such Chinese military and other developments, coupled with the lack of transparency surrounding its defense policy and military power, represent a serious security concern for the region, including Japan, and for the international community,” the NDPG said. “Japan needs to continue to pay utmost attention to these developments. China is eagerly expected to play active roles in a more cooperative manner in the region and the international community.”

Japan is also concerned about North Korea’s launch of ballistic missiles at an unprecedented frequency in recent years. North Korea is believed to possess large-scale cyber units capable of stealing military secrets and developing ways to attack critical infrastructure in foreign countries. 

“Such military development of North Korea pose[s] grave and imminent threats to Japan’s security and significantly undermine[s] peace and security of the region and the international community,” the NDPG said. “Through United Nations Security Council resolutions, the international community also has made it clear that North Korea’s nuclear- and ballistic missile-related activities constitute a clear threat to international peace and security.” The threat continued as North Korea test-fired what appeared to be short-range missiles several times in April and May 2019, the Republic of Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff reported.  

Russia is the third country with potential to cause the most regional tension. Russia is modernizing its military and focusing on nuclear forces. “Close attention therefore needs to be paid to these developments,” the NDPG said. 

Japan plans to keep a close eye on Russian military activity as it trends toward the Arctic Circle, Europe, areas around the U.S. and Middle East, as well as the Far East — including Japan’s Northern Territories.

“While the probability of large-scale military conflict between major countries, which was of concern during the Cold War era, remains low, Japan’s security environment is becoming more testing and uncertain at a remarkably faster speed than expected,” according to the NDPG.

Diplomatic Strength

Strengthening diplomatic ties is as much a part of the latest defense guidelines as strengthening defense capabilities. A shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific is pivotal to Japan’s partnerships.

“As interstate competitions prominently emerge, it has become all the more important for Japan’s national security to further strengthen [its] relationship with the United States, with whom Japan shares universal values and strategic interests,” the NDPG said.

With the Japan-U.S. alliance as a cornerstone, Japan will strategically promote international security cooperation in close coordination with countries sharing universal values and security interests, such as Australia, India and Southeast Asian countries, the defense minister said.

The NDPG said Japan will work on defense cooperation and exchanges, including joint trainings and exercises, defense equipment and technology cooperation and interchanges among military branches.

“I truly believe our efforts will contribute to supporting the peace and stability not only in Japan,” Iwaya said, “but also in the United States, our ally and most important friend, and ultimately in the Pacific and across the entire world.”