Japan's High-Tech Militarization: Asserting Independence in an Uncertain World

MIN READJun 3, 2019 | 10:00 GMT

A Japanese X-2 experimental stealth fighter takes off from Komaki airport in April 2016. Japan is committed to developing its own weaponry under a new defense policy.

(JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images)

East Asia's security environment continues to be a cause for concern for Japan, what with the ever-acute threat of regional powers with great military latitudes, such as China, North Korea and Russia. At the same time, Tokyo has growing fears that Washington, whose power is in decline, will not come to Japan's defense in case of an attack. And then there are Japan's domestic problems, such as its diminishing, aging population, as well as concerns among some citizens that the country intends to shed the pacifist restraints imposed by Article 9 of its postwar constitution. Against such a backdrop, Japan has launched a defense policy that, over the next five years, will enhance its security while maintaining its alliance with the United States. Ultimately, Japanese military leaders are banking that the plan will address its regional concerns while also allowing the country to assert its independence....