Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida participates in an online meeting of Group of Seven leaders that also included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (Provided by Cabinet Public Affairs Office)

When Russia invaded Ukraine halfway around the world exactly a year ago on Feb. 24, 2022, few likely thought it would leave an indelible mark on Japan’s foreign policy and spur a massive defensive buildup.

But the war prompted the government to revise critical national security documents toward the end of the year, vastly altering Japan’s defense strategy.

The moment it became clear it would was when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered a keynote speech in June 2022 at the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.

“Ukraine might represent the East Asia of tomorrow,” Kishida said.

Japan faces its own set of national security concerns, including the increasing maritime advances being made by China, a possible military conflict involving Taiwan, as well as North Korea’s development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

And while that security environment is vastly different from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, government officials leveraged the war in Europe to justify beefing up Japan’s defense.

At a meeting of experts in October discussing how the national security documents should be revised, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada explained why Ukraine had been invaded.

“Ukraine did not have sufficient defense capabilities nor enough allies nor a nuclear umbrella,” Hamada said. “It could not deter a Russia that had a massive military arsenal and a clear intention to invade.”

Hamada went on to say that the world would only help those who first help themselves.

“There is a need to display the will and capability to protect our nation,” Hamada said.

Among the explanatory documents distributed at that meeting was a timeline of the eight military steps taken by Russia against Ukraine.

It started with Russia amassing military troops at the border and conducting military exercises to apply pressure. Then it moved onto a large-scale missile attack and ended with the threat to use nuclear weapons.

The Defense Ministry document then laid out seven pillars for strengthening defense capabilities needed to deal with a similar situation. Those include obtaining long-range missiles that can be used against enemy bases preparing to launch an attack on Japan.

The document stated the threat to use nuclear weapons could be countered with U.S. nuclear deterrence.

Most of the steps laid out from the lessons learned from the Ukraine situation found their way into the revised national security documents.

But discussions in the current ordinary Diet session have not touched on whether Japan actually needs stronger defense capabilities.

And almost no debate has been held on the diplomatic efforts that would be needed to prevent East Asia from becoming tomorrow’s Ukraine.

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