[USNI] FROM THE REPORT
The time has come for our annual release of our white paper, “Defense of Japan.”
Each year personnel from around the Ministry of Defense (MOD), including civilians and members of the Ground, Maritime, and Air Self-Defense Forces, are brought together to form a team and prepare the white paper over the course of approximately one year.
This year’s white paper outlines the security environment surrounding Japan and the initiatives undertaken by the MOD and the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), and attempts to provide clear explanations of key developments and topics regarding the progress made in reinforcing Japan’s defense capabilities.
Upon preparing the white paper, I have asked the white paper team to ensure that the activities of the MOD/JSDF are conveyed not only to experts and specialists in Japan and overseas, but also to the Japanese public at large. The team has brought expertise from across the entire MOD, exercised its creativity, and decided to take on new approaches such as creating videos and booklets to introduce the content of the white paper and make it more engaging to a wider audience.
As for the content of the white paper, the security environment surrounding Japan is as severe and complex as it has ever been since the end of World War II. Even in East Asia, the possibility of serious situations taking place that might shake the foundation of the stable postwar international order cannot be ruled out.
After the formulation of the current “Three Strategic Documents,” including the National Security Strategy, challenges to the free and open international order based on the rule of law have intensified. In the Indo-Pacific, not only are China and North Korea further strengthening their military capabilities, China-Russia and Russia-North Korea are also reinforcing their cooperation. Drawing lessons from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, countries around the world are quickly preparing for “new ways of warfare,” such as mass employment of unmanned assets, as well as getting ready for prolonged conflicts, bringing accelerated changes to the security environment in a wide range of domains. This year’s white paper extensively covers developments related to these “new ways of warfare” and incorporates analyses by researchers from the National Institute for Defense Studies.
To resolutely defend the lives and peaceful livelihoods of Japanese nationals, Japan’s territorial land, waters, and airspace, as well as to protect every member of the JSDF who carries out these missions and their families, it is imperative that Japan further reinforce and transform its defense capabilities with a stronger sense of urgency and crisis than ever before. Based on this understanding, last fiscal year the Government of Japan brought forward the goal to achieve the defense budget level of 2% of GDP outlined in the current National Security Strategy. In the FY2026 budget, expenditures, inclusive of expenses related to the Special Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO) and the realignment of U.S. Forces in Japan, exceeded 9 trillion yen for the first time. Furthermore, the “Three Strategic Documents” will be revised ahead of schedule within this year. Also, shortly after assuming office, I have established the Promotion HQ for Transformation of Defense Capabilities within the MOD, where in-depth discussions are being held from a variety of perspectives.
At the same time, peace and stability in the region cannot be achieved by any country alone.
More at the link