Japan Accelerates Defense Spending to Counter China Threat

Oct 30, 2025 - 11:02

Updated: 6 months ago

Japan Accelerates Defense Spending to Counter China Threat

Commentary

In Tokyo’s view, the rising Chinese military is a tangible, proximate threat—not a distant one.

China has been rapidly expanding its military capabilities. That means more ships, anti-ship missiles, aircraft, and troop carriers, as well as the military flexing that comes with such a buildup, especially regarding Taiwan.

Japanese Perception of Direct Threat

Japanese defense planners see the Chinese communist regime as a direct threat. One government planner warned that Beijing’s growing reach creates scenarios in which China could try to capture Japanese islands close to Taiwan. Understandably, North Korea, with its hypersonic nuclear missiles, is also considered a grave threat by Tokyo.

As a result, Tokyo’s new defense posture, defined in this year’s Defense of Japan white paper, includes boosting spending, reorganizing its economy and command structures, and preparing contingency plans that could extend to defending Taiwan if conflict erupts.

The plan also expands procurement priorities, including more long-range missiles, sea- and air-denial systems, and investments to harden logistics and stockpiles—changes intended to raise the cost of any Chinese operation in the East China Sea or around Taiwan.

The postwar Japan of pacifism and reliance on the United States for its security is gone.

Japan Accelerating Defense Spending

The 2025 white paper from Japan’s defense ministry also notes that China, “has been swiftly increasing its national defense expenditures, thereby extensively and rapidly enhancing its military capability.”

Tokyo sees China’s navy as a projection of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) power and influence in the region, which it certainly is, backed by new missiles, shipbuilding capacity, aircraft carriers, and amphibious systems capable of projecting further beyond the first island chain.

Beijing’s reaction to Japan’s military renewal speaks volumes about shifting power dynamics in East Asia.

In response to Japan’s record defense budget request, Chinese state media Xinhua reported that, according to a Chinese defense spokesperson, “Japan’s rapid military buildup, including the development of offensive weapons and equipment, has raised vigilance and concerns among people worldwide.”

However, Japan’s military buildup has been prompted by the Chinese regime’s expansive militarization and aggressive policies in the region and elsewhere.

Over the last decade, China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy has grown at an extraordinary pace. One analysis found that it now operates more than 370 surface ships and submarines—outnumbering the U.S. Navy in hull counts and projecting mid- to long-term parity or more in key axes of naval power.

Meanwhile, China’s defense minister portrayed a strong Chinese military as stabilizing and “a force for peace” but warned against external interference in Taiwan.

Those assertions underscore why Tokyo says it must prepare for a range of contingencies. New Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi sees the situation clearly and has said, “Japan must take the initiative in fundamentally strengthening its defense capabilities.”

What’s more, she has accelerated the goal of reaching defense spending of 2 percent of GDP ahead of schedule, from a target of 2027 to March 2026.

Takaichi also understands that the region’s strategic pivot is driven by China’s military rise and Tokyo’s determination to protect its islands, population centers, and, if necessary, Taiwan’s security. Tokyo has determined that Japan’s security is linked to Taiwan’s because Japan’s territory and population centers are vulnerable to Chinese coercion or rapid operations.

Therefore, Chinese warships and aircraft observed near Japan’s southwestern islands and the Taiwan Strait region is an unmistakable red flag to Japanese defense planners.

For Japan, the Deterrence Window Is Closing

But the time for Japan to sufficiently rearm to deter the CCP’s ambitions of regional dominance is running out. The risk scenarios that once seemed remote now appear to be literally on the horizon in the unmistakable profile of the Chinese navy. Tokyo’s 2025 white paper states that China’s expanding activity from its southwestern coasts to the Pacific “is the biggest strategic challenge” Japan faces.

From a strategic point of view, Japan’s remilitarization is an acknowledgement that the U.S.-led security arrangement that has been in place since the end of World War II, when the U.S. Navy was unchallenged, is no longer sufficient. Both nations recognize that a new level of engagement and coordination is necessary. Under the Trump administration, the United States is working closely with Japan to reorganize its command footprint and deepen coordination with Tokyo.

Japan’s emphasis on long-range strike, hardened logistics, island defense, and alliance integration reflects a new mindset: deterrence built on both capabilities and credibility as the Indo-Pacific region enters a new era of strategic competition. Whether this shift successfully deters Beijing—or propels a fiercer contest—remains to be seen.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.