Japan aims to build a defense force capable of denying an adversary its objectives, the Defense Ministry told ruling party lawmakers, as the government prepares to revise its three security documents by the end of the year.
The ministry presented the approach at a working-level meeting of the ruling parties on the 10th. It described the basic thinking on defense capability as holding the ability to reject an invasion of any form, thereby deterring incidents comprehensively.
The plan strengthens four foundations, including personnel and the defense industry. It concentrates effort on four fields, among them drone-based defense and stand-off defense — striking from beyond the range of enemy fire.
For stand-off defense, the ministry included the introduction of submarines able to operate long-range missiles as one option for a counterstrike capability.
The document does not mention nuclear-powered submarines, the focus of the revision.
The ministry also plans to review how the Self-Defense Forces operate. That includes unmanned and labor-saving systems such as drones, with cuts to the SDF's authorized troop strength in mind, and a streamlining of command headquarters to respond to changes in the security environment.
The approach is expected to form the basic policy of the National Defense Strategy, one of the three documents.