Podcast

Twitter Space: Japan’s own Zeitenwende?

on 03.02.2023
twitter space

If Japan is the land of the rising sun, Asia is the region of rising tensions. Live from London, Mariko Togashi, Research Fellow for Japanese Security and Defence Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), speaks with Roger Hilton to give her reaction to Japan’s new defence policies and their implication on regional security balance, the country’s future economic security, the move to improve the national industrial defence base, and if the population is ready for potential blowback with a more activist regional policy. 

What are the key points discussed in the episode?

  • The shift in Japan’s defence posture is groundbreaking, but the ongoing policy shift remains in line with the country’s pacificist constitution and its exclusively defense-oriented policy.
  • Public opinion favors the fundamental reinforcement of defense capability outlined by the Kishida government but disagreements on financing remain an open question.
  • These new capabilities, when deployed in the future, will allow Japan to engage in more independent defence activities, playing a bigger role in the US-Japan alliance. 
     
  • Much work remains when it comes to building Japan’s defence industrial base, where scepticism from the private sector remains despite the current Kishida government looking to incentivize actions.
     
  • The economic security of Japan is also important, as outlined in National Security Strategy, where steps to limit exposure from excessive interdependence on China in some areas are already underway.
  • While Japan’s new defence policies will not shift the regional security balance by itself, it will increase Tokyo’s ability to deter China within the US-Japan alliance, the QUAD format, and other partnerships.
  • Japan’s population is yet to be tested when it comes to receiving multiple rounds of foreign blowback from a more activist policy but possesses the capacity to be resilient in the face of further unwanted foreign coercion. 


Listen to the full episode below.

Authors

roger hilton

Media Presenter and Research Fellow

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Authors

roger hilton

Media Presenter and Research Fellow