Opinion | Japan is undergoing a quiet revolution in its military strategy - The Washington Post

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/10/15/japan-defense-military-trump-takaichi/

Finally, Japan wakes up from its pacifist slumber

Japan is spending more on defense. Trump’s pressure helped.

Editorial Board

October 15, 2025 at 5:11 p.m. EDTYesterday at 5:11 p.m. EDT

Japan is known for its predictable governance, which makes recent drama over who becomes the next prime minister unusual. Yet the good news is that messy politics won’t stop the wealthy island from doing more to defend itself.

The most likely next prime minister is Sanae Takaichi of the Liberal Democratic Party, which put her in position to become Japan’s first female leader. Yet complicated legislative math has created an opening for an alternative from Japan’s divided opposition. No one knows who will be there to welcome President Donald Trump on a planned visit to Japan later this month.

The American should be pleased regardless of who gets the top job. For decades, Japan’s U.S.-imposed constitution has limited its military capabilities, and the country spent meager amounts on defense. Yet Japan has undergone a quiet revolution. The country is dramatically increasing defense spending and having a robust debate about whether to amend the “pacifist clause” of its constitution. Most of the country’s political parties, following public opinion, broadly support the shift from meek self-defense to more active deterrence.

Trump had repeatedly criticized the decades-old U.S.-Japan security treaty as “one-sided.” He can take some credit for Japan’s decision in December 2022 to double its defense spending to 2 percent of its gross domestic product by 2027. Currently the number stands at 1.8 percent of GDP — higher than at any point since the 1960s.

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Japan still could do more given the dangers posed by China’s military assertiveness in the Pacific. The second Trump administration has asked Tokyo to raise spending to 3.5 percent of GDP, matching NATO’s commitment to core defense spending. Japan is looking to acquire more long-range precision missiles, develop counterstrike capabilities and deploy more drones and tracking satellites. The country’s elites, perhaps looking to nearby South Korea, also hope to expand the domestic arms industry and become a major exporter.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as China incursions into the waters near the Japanese-administered Senkaku islands, have been a wakeup call. The main political disagreement is not over new military spending, but how to pay for it. The LDP proposes a combination of tax increases and bond issues. The opposition Democratic Party for the People prefers not to raise taxes but reallocate funds from domestic programs.

China recently warned Japan against purchasing weapons “which far exceeds what is required for its exclusively defense-oriented policy.” North Korea has accused Japan of “military recklessness.” The whining from these adversaries underscores why it’s so essential for Japan to bulk up. The U.S.-Japan security alliance has been the linchpin of regional stability for decades, and Americans have reason to be optimistic that yet another ally has stepped up.

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