Photo/Illutration At a ceremony held in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on March 27, graduates of the National Defense Academy hand written oaths to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to serve as members of the Self-Defense Forces. (Pool)

YOKOSUKA, Kanagawa Prefecture--Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in a speech at the National Defense Academy’s graduation ceremony, vowed to strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities in light of the war in Ukraine and other growing security concerns.

“Depending on the development of the situation, the world and our country will face the biggest postwar crisis,” Kishida said about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the ceremony held here on March 27.

It “threatens the basis of the international order that the international community has built with great efforts over many years at huge costs,” he said.

Kishida noted how Japan has collaborated with other countries to support Ukraine and sent it supplies, including bullet-proof vests.

He said the choices and actions of the international community, including Japan, will determine how the world will be in the future.

Kishida also stressed the need for unified efforts by the international community to resist the unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force.

In the speech directed at possible future senior officers of the Self-Defense Forces, Kishida said Japan should never tolerate such a unilateral attempt “in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in East Asia.”

He mentioned North Korea’s recent testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile and China’s maritime aggression before declaring the urgency in updating Japan’s National Security Strategy, the National Defense Program Guidelines, and the Midterm Defense Buildup Program.

“We will take into consideration all options, without excluding any of them, to take fundamental measures to enhance Japan’s defense capability,” he said.

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