Japan’s Security
Peace and security are essential for the people to live with a sense of safety and for Japan to continue to prosper. In addition, the independent state of a nation must be protected in order for it to determine its own direction in politics, economy, and society, as well as maintaining its culture, tradition, and sense of values. However, peace, safety, and independence cannot be secured by simply wishing for them. These are things that can only be achieved when a nation maintains its own defense capabilities and is taking comprehensive measures encompassing diplomatic efforts and cooperation with its allies and the international community, while keeping in mind today’s situation in which countries are becoming more interdependent than ever.
In particular, for Japan, which is highly dependent on foreign countries for resources and food, and whose development and prosperity are based on free trade, it is extremely important to maintain peace and cooperation in the international community. With this understanding, Japan is strengthening bilateral cooperative relationships, including the Japan-U.S. alliance, as well as regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and cooperation with the United Nations (UN), in order to prevent and resolve conflicts and confrontations and to promote economic development, arms control and disarmament, maritime security, and mutual understanding and trust. In addition, Japan has been building a robust security foundation through economic and educational measures, which are aimed at stabilizing people’s lives, enhancing public awareness on national security, and keeping the nation vigilant to deter invasions.
Nevertheless, the reality of the current international community suggests that it is not necessarily possible to prevent invasions from the outside by employing only nonmilitary means, and in the event that the nation were to be invaded it would not be able to remove such a threat. Defense capabilities are the nation’s ultimate guarantee of security, expressing its will and capacity to eliminate foreign invasions, and they cannot be replaced by any other means. For this reason, It is essential to have defense capabilities that can appropriately respond to various situations arising from diverse, complex, and multilayered security issues and uncertain factors. Moreover, from the perspective of improving the security environment surrounding Japan and preventing the emergence of threats to Japan, the importance of the role played by defense capabilities is increasing in cooperative efforts as a member of the Asia-Pacific region and the international community. With these factors in mind, Japan is striving to develop appropriate defense capabilities. This underlines that the peace and security of Japan is ensured through developing seamless defense measures by coupling Japan’s own defense capabilities with the Japan-U.S. Security Arrangements.
Upon recognizing the role of defense capabilities in the security field, Japan aims to ensure national security as well as bringing peace and safety to the Asia-Pacific region, and eventually to the entire world through making its utmost efforts in a variety of fields.