As Japan prepares to release three critical security documents – its National Security Strategy, National Defense Program Guidelines, and Medium-Term Defense Program – by the end of 2022, its policymakers have been discussing Japan’s acquisition of strike capabilities in the context of missile defense. The debate about adopting “counterstrike capabilities” – formerly known as “enemy base strike capabilities” – accelerated exponentially when the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) Research Commission on Security proposed that Japan must consider acquiring such capabilities to deter missile attacks.

Although this active discussion reflects the severe regional security environment facing Japan, the strike capability debate must also be accompanied by decision-makers’ will to make a political decision about the conditions for deploying strikes and their commitment to launch counterstrikes against the enemy – including China – to improve Japan’s deterrence against missile attacks.

This article was originally published by The Diplomat. Read the full article here.