The Regional Security Environment of Japan
The Regional Security Environment of Japan

Summary/Abstract: From the Japanese perspective, the greatest present-day threat to the country’s security is the rise of provocative behaviour by the Chinese air and naval forces in the region of the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, located in the southern part of the East China Sea. Deemed by Tokyo as treading a fine line between war and peace, it is the main determinant of Japan’s current and future defence policy. The second, no less important, factor which has a fundamental impact on Japan’s regional security environment is the development of North Korea’s nuclear technology and the implementation, since 2016, of that country’s missile programme, with particular emphasis on ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The declared purpose of their use against South Korea, Japan, and US military bases in this part of the Asia-Pacific, constitutes one of the most significant challenges in Japan’s defence policy and strategy.

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