PRESS

cies pertaining to national security.” 2 The document
is a welcome expression of Japan’s long-term vision
for securing the nation’s regional and global security
objectives. The fifth National Defense Program Guidelines
(NDPG) establishes Japan’s longer-term defense
policy and force structure. 3 The Medium Term Defense
Program (MTDP) is a programmatic statement of defense
requirements and acquisition plans over a 5-year
period. 4 For the first time in Japan’s post-World War
II history, Tokyo has produced policy documents that
systematically align Japanese policy, strategy, and
capabilities.
Notably, the NSS promotes the concept of “proactive
contribution to peace” that commits Japan to an
even more forward-leaning posture in world affairs.
Describing the concept as a “fundamental principle
of [Japan’s] national security,” the NSS argues that
the security of Japan and of the wider international
community have become indivisible:
Japan cannot secure its own peace and security by itself,
and the international community expects Japan
to play a more proactive role for peace and stability
in the world, in a way commensurate with its national
capabilities. 5
In other words, Japan advances global security
by safeguarding its own neighborhood, while Japanese
defense of the international order benefits Asian
regional stability.
As such, the NDPG contends that Japan must:
contribute even more proactively in securing peace,
stability and prosperity of the international community
while achieving its own security as well as peace
and stability in the Asia—Pacific region. 6
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