Japan updated its two major defense-planning documents in December 2018—the National Defense Program Guidelines for policy guidance, and the Mid-Term Defense Program for acquisition. Both documents are unprecedented in the heightened sense of urgency for Japan’s security challenges, and the ambitiousness of the plan for its future defense force to address them. The latest defense budget proposal for FY2020-2021 confirms the trendline laid out in the planning documents. What does this means for Japan’s security policy in 2020s? What are the potential implications for Japan’s evolving role in the US-Japan alliance? Honorable Itsunori Onodera, who oversaw the formulation of these two important documents, will share his views.
Featuring:
The Honorable Itsunori Onodera, 12th and 17th Minister of Defense of Japan
Itsunori Onodera is a member of the Japanese House of Representatives, representing Miyagi Prefecture’s 6th District with the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as the 12th, 17th, and 18thMinister of Defense under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from December 2012 to September 2014 and from August 2017 to October 2018.
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