There are big changes afoot in the strict homeland defense military structure in the Land of the Rising Sun. Constitutionally prohibited from building a military capable of offensive operations or “waging war” as they put it…

Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution contains “No war” clause. It came into effect on May 3, 1947, immediately after World War II. The text of the article of the Japanese Government formally renounce war as a right of sovereignty and the refuses to settle disputes using military force. The Article also states that military forces with war potential will not be maintained.

…the Japanese have, for decades, maintained small standing forces for home defense – with a defense budget that matched – while working with and hosting United States military units along with other friendly nations. In other words, they provided a homeport and facilities for the heavy hitter U.S. who could take care of the region if push came to shove, and patrol in the meantime.

Things started to change when Shinzo Abe once again became prime minister in 2011. Always a strong defense-minded individual, he finagled a way to beef up defense spending as well as tweak the constitutional interpretation of Art 9, allowing for an expanded military – their Self Defense Forces (SDF) – and “home defense” mission.

…During that time, Abe boosted Japan’s defense spending, expanded his country’s alliance with the United States, and implemented major institutional reforms in the country’s security establishment.

In 2014, Abe’s government reinterpreted Japan’s pacifist constitution in a way that would theoretically allow Japanese troops to come to the aid of an ally under attack.

In 2018, Abe created a National Security Council, which strengthened the prime minister’s role in security affairs. Experts called it “the most ambitious reorganization of Japan’s foreign and security policy apparatus since the end of World War II.”

Abe resigned as prime minister in 2020. He was brutally assassinated this past July in Nara while giving a campaign speech for another parliamentary candidate. He never got to see the Japanese Constitution revised.

…Abe was a leading Liberal Democratic Party voice in favor of revising the constitution, which was drafted by U.S.-led forces that occupied Japan after World War II.

Article 9 of the document renounces war and bans the maintenance of a standing army, although Japan has long had a de facto military – the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.

Abe had argued the constitution should be revised in a way that would put the Self-Defense Forces on a more formal setting.

But Shinzo Abe’s efforts and driving philosophy may still bear fruit, especially as the multiplicity of dangers surrounding the Japanese homeland is truly beginning to dawn on the people themselves. China, Russia, and North Korea’s sudden truculence are all weighing heavily on the Japanese mind.

Ironically enough, on 7 Dec, word came that Japan was ready to unveil a massive reworking of its National Security Strategy, along with two other important national security documents.

.Japan is set to unveil a new National Security Strategy for the first time in nearly a decade, potentially laying the foundation for dramatic shifts in the country’s strictly defense-oriented policy amid what Tokyo calls an “increasingly severe security environment.”

..Two other key security documents are set for revisions: the National Defense Program Guidelines and the Medium-Term Defense Program.

The guidelines, which were first crafted in 1976, outline the basic policy for Japan’s defense and the significance and role of the country’s defense capabilities, while serving as the basic direction for future capabilities, according to the Defense Ministry. This includes the specific structure of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and major equipment procurement targets.

The medium-term program, a version of which was first approved for the 1986 fiscal year, is a five-year spending and procurement plan based on the defense guidelines that shows the total amount of expenses for the term and the quantity of major equipment to be procured, according to the ministry.

…While the 2013 strategy document had an overarching theme that Abe coined as “proactive pacifism” — an approach that was based on strengthened capabilities and international cooperation, especially with the U.S., to help maintain global peace and stability — there have been massive shifts in the security landscape in the decade since it was drafted.

These shifts include growing Chinese regional assertiveness, the breakneck speed of North Korea’s nuclear and missile advancements and Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine.

While the politicians massage the changes allowing a more aggressive defensive posture, alliances are being cemented between Asian-Pacific and European partners. For starters, Japanese forces will soon be joining American and Australian military units in three-way joint operations and unit rotations.

Australia and Japan will pursue opportunities for “more complex” joint military exercises, Canberra’s defence minister said Friday after talks with his Japanese counterpart and the countries’ foreign ministers in Tokyo.

The meeting followed the signing in October of a security pact by Japan and Australia, agreeing to share intelligence and deepen defence cooperation to counter China’s military rise.

And in Washington this week, the Australian and American defence and foreign ministers said they would welcome Japanese troops into three-way rotations.

On Friday, Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said the security pact and other agreements enable the two nations “to take the strategic alignment and the deep affection between our countries forward”.

“We’ve spent today thinking of ways in which we can operationalise that,” he said in a four-way announcement.

In another move, the Japanese announced a joint fighter venture with the Britain and Italy, the first time they’ve looked past the U.S. for defense manufacturing since, apparently, the end of WWII. And, again, emphasis was on the threat posed by China and Russia

Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects in a bridge between Europe and Asia that marks Japan’s first major industrial defence collaboration beyond the United States since World War Two.

The climax to months of talks reported by Reuters in July aims to put an advanced front-line fighter and pack of drones and sensors into operation by 2035 by combining the British-led Future Combat Air System, known as Tempest, with Japan’s F-X in a venture called the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).

Against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and intensifying Chinese military activity around Japan and Taiwan, the agreement may help Japan counter the growing military might of its bigger neighbour and give Britain a bigger security role in a region that is a key driver of global economic growth.

The Japanese are also making sure they maintain strong ties with India. The Indians are partners in a strategic foursome know as “The QUAD” or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprising Japan, the U.S., India, and Australia.

Japan has to do some soul searching and do it quickly, in the face of some pretty daunting threats. The constitutional tenets they have operated under for 75 years have rarely been adjusted, nor did the Japanese people feel they needed much tweaking.

Their entire pacifist defense posture is based on a one-sheet, one-paragraph policy paper adapted in 1957, called The Basic Policy on National Defense. Consequent to that, some adjustments were made, but they were also premised on a hopeful trust in the United Nations’ ability to keep the peace worldwide. We all know how that’s turned out.

These new alliances and weapons in the pipelines reflect the revisions being made to the security documents, which will allow Japan to respond adroitly to challenges with sufficient forces already in situ. In addition, there will be a bold statement of support forthcoming for their neighbor, putting the Chinese on notice.

…Indeed, analysts and even some high-ranking allied officials, including then-U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander Adm. Philip Davidson, have hinted that China could attempt to take control of self-ruled Taiwan by the end of the 2020s. Such a conflict would have a devastating impact on Japan, with a war sealing off vital shipping lanes and leaving parts of the country, including U.S. and SDF bases in Okinawa Prefecture and elsewhere, well within striking distance of China’s vast arsenal of advanced missiles.

In the revised NSS, Japan will reportedly mention for the first time that “no unilateral change of the status quo by force will be tolerated” regarding democratic Taiwan, which China sees as a renegade province that must be unified with the mainland, by force, if necessary.

They are throwing the marker down and making the moves to back it up. How far they will be able to go is up to voters and current events. Losing Abe was a huge blow to the movement to ensure Japan a strengthened defense footing.

As one political scientist lamented after his death.

…”Without Shinzo, we don’t have a visible figure to promote this agenda,” she said. “There are not so many guys like Prime Minister Abe.“

These recent announcements are all part of his legacy.