As animals, the most important thing for human beings is that they have sufficient clothing, enough food, and can sleep well. In this sense, for any country, economic growth and national security are the basis of its policy. Here are some of my thoughts about Japan's national security.
Japan is the world's third-largest economy in terms of nominal gross domestic product. Only a country that is more powerful than Japan can guarantee its safety — much like an ordinary businessperson cannot possibly serve as a joint guarantor for a billionaire. In that respect, the only candidates to which Japan can entrust its security are the United States, China and the European Union, whose economic power roughly matches that of the U.S. or China. What if we are allowed to comparatively weigh the three candidates from scratch?
As far as their current military power is concerned, the U.S. should be counted as No. 1, followed by China and then the EU. With regard to economic power measured in terms of purchasing power parity, it would be safe to say that the three are approximately equal. Geopolitically speaking, combining Japan and China has an advantage in that they are physically close to each other.