Japan’s three most important national security documents are scheduled to be released later this month.
The National Security Strategy (NSS) is the framework that guides thinking about national security, while the National Defense Program Guidelines and the Mid-Term Defense Program (MTDP) chart a path toward realization of that vision for the military.
The first and only NSS was published in 2013; the other two documents are issued with some regularity. This iteration will include some drastic changes in Japanese strategy and policy and the government is preparing the public for the most controversial of them. Two stand out: acquisition of a counterstrike capability and how to fund an increased defense budget. The first seems certain; the second is less clear.