Photo/Illutration The Defense of Japan 2024 white paper (Taro Saito)

Japan needs a stable program as it strengthens its defenses to stay abreast of changes in its security environment.

However, excessive reliance on armed force may prove counterproductive as this only generates unwanted tension.

Patient dialogue and efforts to build mutual trust should also constitute the two wheels of the cart.

The Defense of Japan 2024 white paper was published on July 12. This is its landmark 50th edition, with the inaugural edition published in 1970. Since 1976, the white paper has come out every year.

This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Self-Defense Forces.

The administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is working on a major change of direction of Japan’s security policy.

For this reason, now is the time to revisit the original purpose of the defense white paper. It sought public understanding and cooperation, both of which are indispensable to national defense.

This year’s white paper warns, “Japan is facing the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II. It cannot be ruled out that a serious situation similar to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine may occur in the Indo-Pacific region in the future, particularly in East Asia.”

Regarding China’s militarization and hard-line posture toward others, the report says this is “a matter of serious concern for Japan as well as for the international community” and “the greatest strategic challenge.” This is a reiteration of last year’s evaluation.

The report adds that, given China's escalating military activity, the possibility of heightened tension between it and Taiwan cannot be discounted.

As for North Korea, the white paper describes a threat that is “more grave and imminent … to Japan's security than ever before.” It notes that Pyongyang is “focusing on qualitatively improving its nuclear and missile capabilities.”

How should Japan deal with these developments?

The thinking that runs throughout this year's report is that it is crucial to improve the nation’s defense capabilities, reinforce the Japan-U.S. alliance and work closely with like-minded nations, so that deterrence will be more powerful and more effective at discouraging an enemy from attacking Japan.

This year's white paper contains a column by a researcher at the National Institute for Defense Studies about the power of deterrence.

There also is a Q&A section that says Japan’s “right to strike (an enemy) base,” which was endorsed by amendments of three security-related documents, does not run counter to the nation’s traditional defense-only policy.

The document’s front cover has an image of a sword being forged. This is said to represent how Japan has traditionally “hammered out the sword, which serves as a deterrent, and thereby prevented invasions.”

The white paper mentions the “importance of defense cooperation and exchanges with China.”

It reports on the inauguration of a bilateral defense hotline, as well as on a Japan-China defense ministers’ meeting in Singapore in June last year on the sidelines of an international conference.

There also is a report on the resumption of exchanges between SDF and Chinese army field officers, sponsored by a Japanese think tank. The exchanges had been suspended for four years.

Still, there is no question that given Japan’s seeming impatience to boost its deterrence power, communications with China remain inadequate on multiple levels.

In order to avert an accidental clash or escalation of tensions from a misunderstanding, the Foreign Ministry and the entire Japanese government must be on board, not just the Defense Ministry and the SDF.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 17

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