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In FocusHow Japan is digging in to deter – and withstand – a conflict over Taiwan
A planned Hiroshima defence hub highlights how Tokyo is accelerating preparations to sustain its military should a Taiwan crisis reach Japan
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The risk of a conflict over Taiwan is shaping Japanese defence planning, with Tokyo shoring up security at home and abroad for a potentially prolonged fight. But there are economic, demographic and political constraints on how far its military transformation can go. In the second of a three-part series, Gabriel Dominguez examines how Tokyo is building military resilience within its territory.
Japan’s recent purchase of a former Nippon Steel site to build a sprawling new defence hub points to a deeper shift in Tokyo’s preparations for a potential Taiwan conflict: it is increasingly planning not only for how to deter a war, but also for how to sustain the fight if deterrence fails.
The planned complex in Kure, Hiroshima prefecture – already home to one of Japan’s major naval bases – is intended to combine military facilities, logistics and defence production, concentrating several of the functions Tokyo would need to sustain its forces during a prolonged conflict.
Four years into a sweeping defence build-up, experts say that emphasis on endurance reflects a grim conclusion taking hold in Japanese defence planning: preparing for a Taiwan crisis increasingly means preparing to defend Japan itself.
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