The Defense of Japan 2020 annual white paper came out last week, and just like every year it has sparked media reporting on what it all means.
Like other governments' formal defense reports, this document provides a summary of the country’s security practice for the year — that is, the authorities and allowances afforded to defense forces and how they have used them based on the strategic environment. Since this report only comes once a year and is eventually made available in foreign languages, its arrival is a much-anticipated event for many a Japan observer.
When the document does come out, myriad interpretations and analyses inevitably follow. Some argue that the length of certain sections compared with previous years is steeped in meaning. Others will look at the order in which countries are listed and try to discern how changes connote a major “downgrading” or “upgrading” of a relationship. Still others will analyze what they believe to be novel policy positions. However, that analysis can be unhelpful or misleading while obscuring the real value of the white paper.