How to defend weak Japan: A bitter national security reality

As military balance shifts and China gains dominance, Japan restructures

20220105 Japan US Joint military training main

Tokyo this year will recast its national defense program guidelines, which define key security policy challenges and detail how they will be tackled. © Maritime Staff Office/Kyodo

HIROYUKI AKITA, Nikkei commentator

January 9, 2022 16:27 JST

TOKYO -- Japan faces a crucial crossroads in 2022 as it revises for the first time the national security strategy it announced at the end of 2013. The recalibration will result in a reconfiguration of Japan's relationships with the rest of the world.