\u201cAs we are witnessing Russia\u2019s Ukraine aggression, the continuing situation over the Middle East, as well as the situation in East Asia, we are faced with a historic turning point,\u201d Kishida said during an interview at his private residence in Tokyo. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat is why Japan has made a decision to fundamentally reinforce its defense capabilities and we have greatly changed Japan\u2019s security policy on these fronts,\u201d\u00a0he said. <\/p>\n
In the face of mounting security challenges, the prime minister stressed, the Japan-United States alliance is becoming \u201cever more important,\u201d a view he said he hoped would garner bipartisan support in Washington. <\/p>\n
Kishida made the remarks days ahead of his Wednesday meeting with Biden in Washington,\u00a0where he will also address a joint session of Congress and participate in the very first trilateral summit between Japan, the United States and the Philippines. <\/p>\n
The Kishida-Biden summit has been characterized by Washington as a historic opportunity for the two countries to modernize their alliance as both eye regional threats from North Korea\u2019s weapons testing and burgeoning relations with Russia to China\u2019s aggression in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan. <\/p>\n
Partnership with Japan has long been central to US strategy in the Indo-Pacific, but the defense relationship has expanded under Kishida, who has raised Japan\u2019s profile in global and regional security. <\/p>\n
Since coming to office in 2021, the prime minister has overseen a sweeping shift in Tokyo\u2019s defense posture, veering away from the pacifist constitution imposed on it by the United States in the aftermath of World War II,\u00a0to boost defense spending to about 2% of its GDP by 2027 and acquire counterstrike capabilities. <\/p>\n
That move is not without controversy, especially in China and other parts of Asia that suffered hugely under Japan\u2019s World War II era militarism. <\/p>\n
When asked about that shift, Kishida pointed to the \u201csevere and complex\u201d security environment surrounding his East Asian nation, the world\u2019s fourth-largest economy. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn our neighborhood, there are countries that are developing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, and others that are building up their defense capabilities in an opaque way. Also, there is a unilateral attempt to change the status quo, by force, in both the East China Sea and South China Sea,\u201d\u00a0he said, in an apparent reference to Chinese maritime aggression related to territorial disputes with both the Philippines and Japan. <\/p>\n
Building Japan\u2019s deterrence and response capability is also \u201cessential\u201d for the alliance with the United States, he argued. <\/p>\n
\u201cI hope the US will understand this, and that we can work together to improve the region\u2019s peace and stability. I think it\u2019s important to show the rest of the world that the US and Japan will further evolve our collaboration, through my visit,\u201d Kishida said. <\/p>\n
Next week\u2019s events will also be a platform for deepening expansion between Japan and another key US regional partner and mutual defense treaty ally, the Philippines. <\/p>\n
It comes less than a year after a ground-breaking meeting between the US, Japan and South Korea \u2013 with both summits underscoring the centrality of Japan in America\u2019s Indo-Pacific security strategy and the push for increasing coordination with allies and partners amid rising regional tensions. <\/p>\n
Kishida\u2019s visit with Biden next week also comes as both leaders face uncertain circumstances at home. <\/p>\n
The\u00a0Japanese prime minister grapples with dismal approval ratings, primarily following scandals involving his party, and the looming US elections raise the potential of a policy shake up if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House next year. <\/p>\n
Both during his administration and in more recent years Trump has repeatedly poured cold water on Washington\u2019s defense and security treaties, something that has rattled allies in both Asia and Europe alike. <\/p>\n
Kishida declined to comment on if he was concerned about a return of the former president. Instead, he expressed belief that the importance of the US-Japan alliance was widely recognized \u201cregardless of party affiliation.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThe relationship between Japan and the United States has become stronger than ever before \u2026 Regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, I think it is important to make sure that the American people recognize the importance of the Japan-US relationship,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Since taking office, Kishida has also positioned Japan as a partner to the US not only in Asia, but more globally. <\/p>\n
He has championed a view that security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific are inextricably linked, while emerging as a staunch backer of Ukraine and closely aligning with G7 countries in its position on Russia. <\/p>\n
Those linkages have been close to home for Japan, as Russian and Chinese militaries conduct joint drills in the region and North Korea has now been accused by G7 nations of\u00a0supplying Moscow with arms for use in its war in Ukraine \u2013 raising global concerns about an emerging axis between the three countries who all have tense relations with the United States. <\/p>\n
Kishida also noted his government was making \u201chigh-level approaches\u201d to secure a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to resolve \u201coutstanding issues\u201d and promote stable relations between the two countries. <\/p>\n
Japan, alongside South Korea, is on the frontlines of North Korea\u2019s aggressive weapons testing program, with its test missiles regularly falling into regional waters. The issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea more than decades ago has also remained an especially emotional point of contention. <\/p>\n
Kishida said his government was monitoring exchanges of equipment between Pyongyang and Moscow and pointed to joint China and Russia military drills, describing such cooperation as \u201cconcerning,\u00a0with respect to international order and stability.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, it is important to convey a firm message to North Korea and China that it is important for the peace, stability, and prosperity of the international community to maintain a free and open international order based on the rule of law,\u201d Kishida said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe must also cooperate with them to promote a strong international community, not one of division and confrontation,\u201d he added. \u201cI believe that it is important to cooperate with the United States and our allies to create an atmosphere of cooperation, not of division and confrontation, to advance the international community.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
\u201cAs we are witnessing Russia\u2019s Ukraine aggression, the continuing situation over the Middle East, as well as the situation in East Asia, we are faced with a historic turning point,\u201d Kishida said during an interview at his private residence in Tokyo. \u201cThat is why Japan has made a decision to fundamentally reinforce its defense capabilities <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":17702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}