Opinion | China’s military expands and the US waffles, leaving Japan’s defence planning in search of the right balance

Tetsu Mizuno says that Beijing’s growing military capabilities, along with unclear US policy in East Asia, mean Japan’s recent defence planning is aimed at maintaining the balance of power

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Members of the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force attend a handover ceremony for the latest Izumo-class helicopter carrier JS Kaga (DDH-184) in Yokohama on March 22. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:30am, 20 Dec 2018Updated: 9:37am, 20 Dec 2018

On December 18, Japan’s latest 10-year defence programme was approved by the cabinet. Its five-year defence budget, as indicated in the Medium Term Defence Programme, is about 27 trillion yen (US$240 billion), including some 2 trillion yen that will come from cost-cutting. The money will be spent on strengthening outer space, cyberspace and electromagnetic waves capabilities, in addition to existing land, sea and air defence infrastructure.

One feature that has attracted attention is the modification of the Self-Defence Forces’ (SDF) largest vessel, the Izumo-class helicopter destroyer, for use as a multipurpose destroyer carrying short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B aircraft. Within the Japan-US security framework, the Izumo destroyer supports US aircraft carriers and so plays a vital role in anti-submarine defence.

As for the fighter aircraft, the current F-15s (99 planes) will gradually be switched to F-35A and F-35B, and since they will be deployed to SDF land bases, the defence policy specifies that “when necessary, operation of STOVL aircraft from existing vessels will be made possible”.

There has been discussion over whether this modification of the Izumo means Japan will now possess an attack aircraft carrier, and whether that would violate a constitution that stipulates an exclusively defence-oriented policy. China has even expressed fears that Japan’s new defence programme represents accelerating militarisation.

Following successive debates by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito coalition, an agreement to modify the Izumo was reached based on clarification that the Izumo would operate within an exclusively defence-oriented policy. Then, during a February 2018 regular session of the House of Representatives, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated that there was no change to the understanding that the possession of attack weapons, including attack aircraft carriers, is not permitted. Even before the cabinet decision, he clearly stated that “its multipurpose use will be maintained”.