Under the title “The Return of Japanese Hard Power—Why Tokyo Is Bulking Up Its Defense Industrial Base,” The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the British foreign policy outpost in the U.S., posted a cheerleader report in their journal Foreign Affairs on May 5 by Matthew Finkel, a fellow at CFR and a Human Rights Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. Finkel captures the war party delight that Japan is dumping its historic pacifist Constitutional policy, which he dismisses as out of tune with “the industrial policies and security challenges of the day.” Although changing the Constitution is complicated and will not happen quickly, it is on the agenda of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Finkel writes that the “stigma around defense production has been eclipsed by concern over Chinese aggression and fear that the rules-based order is showing cracks. After decades of association with the country’s past militarism, Japan’s defense industry is experiencing a renaissance. If the country can overcome its lack of capacity, poor cybersecurity, and economic dependence on China, it could redefine its own security and reshape the global market for arms.”
He joyfully reports: “Japan is in its fourth year of a five-year graduated commitment to doubling the national defense budget, from roughly $35 billion in 2022 to about $60 billion by 2027. In absolute terms, Japan is now the ninth-biggest military spender in the world. Government contracts are now big enough for defense firms to turn a profit, and more companies are angling for a shot at a lucrative procurement deal.” He adds that Japan is building a “sixth-generation stealth fighter with Italy and the United Kingdom. Japan’s defense industry titan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, is in the process of building a new hypersonic glide vehicle, effectively the country’s first ballistic missile. The company is also constructing 11 Mogami-class warships ordered last year by Australia in a first-of-its-kind sale for Tokyo.”
