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In December 2022, Japan introduced three security documents that laid out Tokyo’s most ambitious defense plans since the creation of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in 1954. In the documents, Tokyo promised to increase its military spending to 2 percent of Japan’s GDP and develop counterstrike capabilities to bolster deterrence. The documents, along with Japan’s defense agreements with Australia and the United Kingdom and improved Japan–South Korea relations, illustrate Tokyo’s dynamic thinking about its security environment, partnership commitments, and defense and technological capabilities. 

To assess Japan’s ambitious defense transformation, Hudson’s Japan Chair will host a panel with senior Japanese and American security professionals to discuss Japan’s growing security challenges, its need for integrated and comprehensive approaches to security, and its opportunities for deeper cooperation with allies and partners.