The government has begun work to write the strengthening of "endurance capability" — the ability to keep fighting if a war drags on — into the National Defense Strategy, one of the three security documents it will revise at the end of the year, multiple officials said on the 7th.
The move draws on lessons from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year. Japan would build up stockpiles of ammunition and missiles in peacetime and secure a system to raise production once fighting begins.
Some in the government accept the direction but argue for caution over wording that presumes war. The final text will be settled after coordination within the ruling coalition.
The current National Defense Strategy, drawn up in 2022, already called for securing endurance capability. Since then, the Ukraine war and the US military's strikes on Iran, in which large volumes of ammunition were used up in a short period, have deepened concern in the government that readiness for a long war is central to the credibility of deterrence.
The Defense Ministry's October progress report on the three-document revision said securing and maintaining enough endurance capability to handle a protracted war "has become an issue." It stressed that stockpiling in peacetime and building a production surge after the outbreak of war are important.