Ahead of revisions to the three national security documents, the government began using the phrase “a new way of defending Japan,” which Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro (小泉進次郎) has repeatedly used at press conferences and meetings since May.
The government is working to choose wording that will make it easier to secure public understanding, with the aim of adapting Japan’s response to new forms of warfare seen around the world to circumstances appropriate for Japan. Since an exchange with reporters in May, Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro (小泉進次郎) has used the same phrase to explain the issue at meetings as well.
The current National Defense Strategy, adopted in 2022, calls for responding to “new ways of warfare.” Against the backdrop of changes in tactics combining the space, cyber and electromagnetic domains with unmanned systems around the world, the phrase is used in the context of organizing Japan’s defense policy.
In June, discussions advanced at an expert panel on revisions to the three national security documents. While experts pointed to the difficulty of securing public understanding, some also acknowledged the importance of wording that captures changes in technology and military operations. Professor Higashino Atsuko (東野篤子) of the University of Tsukuba said that the phrase “new ways of warfare” was prone to causing misunderstanding.
Some members of the Liberal Democratic Party criticized the rewording, while the Ministry of Defense is reportedly moving ahead with efforts to organize its position. The article says that these discussions and the responses of the government and the Prime Minister’s Office are unfolding between the need to explain matters to the public and the need to promote public understanding.