Japan should bolster its defense capabilities and enhance the deterrence of the Japan-U.S. security alliance to prevent military aggression in the Indo-Pacific region, the top uniformed officer of the Self-Defense Forces said.

“The most important thing is to strengthen deterrence to prevent a serious situation like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from occurring in the Indo-Pacific region,” Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of staff of the SDF’s Joint Staff, told The Asahi Shimbun. “It is necessary to maintain an environment that will not allow armed aggression to occur for the next quarter of a century.”

Yoshida said Ukraine failed to deter Russia’s aggression because it allowed Moscow to underestimate its capabilities and conclude that it could easily topple the Kiev government.

“High-intensity wars still occur in the 21st century,” he said. “The important thing is to strengthen one’s own defense capabilities so as not to be underestimated by other countries.”

Yoshida said Japan should strengthen its own defense capabilities and also heighten U.S. trust in the country to enhance the deterrence of the Japan-U.S. alliance.

If the SDF improves its capabilities and increases the roles it can play in the bilateral alliance, “the United States will put greater trust in Japan and solidify its commitment to the defense of Japan,” he said.

Yoshida agreed to the interview on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the SDF.

Turning to the security environment surrounding Japan, Yoshida said the first airspace breach by a Chinese military aircraft on Aug. 26 “clearly violated our country’s sovereignty and is extremely regrettable.”

“We will continue to strictly implement measures to counter airspace intrusions.”

Asked about China’s capabilities to invade Taiwan, Yoshida refrained from discussing “specific analysis,” but said, “Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is an extremely important issue.”

“China has been changing the status quo by force in the East China Sea and South China Sea since the 2010s,” he said. “It is extremely important how we will stop attempts to render further changes faits accompli.”

Naming China, Russia and North Korea, Yoshida said countries attempting to change the status quo by force are working together.

Under such circumstances, “bringing together allies and like-minded countries that identify with maintaining an international order based on the rule of law will lead to maintaining a free and open international order,” he said.

He said Japan should intensify security cooperation with countries that are increasingly concerned about collaboration between China and Russia, such as NATO members, in addition to the United States.

Yoshida said Japan plans to acquire the capabilities to strike enemy bases to deter potential adversaries from attacking Japan with missiles.

With missile attack technologies becoming more advanced and complex, “we cannot fully protect the lives and property of the people if we rely solely on intercepting incoming missiles,” he said.

“Should we use our counterattack capability, we do not envisage any preventive or pre-emptive strikes in accordance with the three conditions for Japan exercising its right of self-defense,” Yoshida said.

The United States is being forced to deploy its forces not only in the Indo-Pacific region but also in Europe and the Middle East.

With an increasingly assertive China, Japan faces the strategic challenge of keeping the United States committed to the Indo-Pacific region.

Yoshida said the SDF and the U.S. military have an “extremely strong” relationship and that they have been conducting joint exercises “of an unprecedented quality.”

While the SDF and the U.S. military plan to reinforce coordination in command and control, concerns remain over whether the independence of Japan’s command and control authority over the SDF will be ensured in an emergency.

Yoshida said the SDF first announced plans to establish a joint operations command for its ground, maritime and air branches and the U.S. military is reorganizing its command and control structure in response.

“The SDF has also taken the initiative in terms of operations rather than being influenced by the United States,” he said. “We are confident that the independence of our command and control system will be guaranteed.”

Yoshida was also asked about visits by groups of senior SDF officers to Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 Class-A war criminals along with the nation’s war dead.

Yoshida said there is no problem if SDF members visit the shrine of their own accord.

But he said, “We must be careful not to act in a way that could cause misunderstandings,” referring to the principle of separation of state from religion under Article 20 of the Constitution.

“The chief of staff of the Joint Staff represents the SDF,” Yoshida said. “I have no intention of visiting the shrine as long as I am in this position, just as I have never thought about it since I assumed this position.”

More than 200 SDF members were disciplined in July over the handling of state secrets, the illegal receipt of allowances and other incidents.

Yoshida said the scandals must be taken seriously, given the high standards of discipline required.

“We should keep a sense of responsibility, maintain even higher standards of discipline and push forward with our duties,” he said.

In recent years, the SDF has been under capacity by around 20,000 members, and it secured only 50.8 percent of recruits planned in fiscal 2023, the lowest percentage ever.

Yoshida acknowledged that manpower shortages are a “very serious issue.”

He said the SDF plans to draw on civilian personnel and reserve SDF members wherever possible and focus its limited manpower on duties that can only be performed by regular members.

Yoshida indicated that the SDF plans to utilize artificial intelligence to advance defense capabilities, not to save on manpower.

He also said the SDF plans to increase the number of female members, who account for only 8.9 percent of the total number of SDF personnel, by creating a workplace environment where they can work comfortably.

Yoshida, a graduate of the University of Tokyo’s faculty of engineering, joined the Ground SDF in 1986 and served as its chief of staff.

In March 2023, he was appointed chief of staff of the Joint Staff, the first officer to take up the post who is not a graduate of the National Defense Academy.

(This article was written by Koji Sonoda and Daisuke Yajima.)