Ballistic Missile Defense in Japan: Deterrence and Military Transformation
In December 2003, Japan decided to be the second country in the Asia-Pacific to deploy a ballistic missile defense (BMD) system.
Started in the 1980s as a defense industry cooperation initiative, BMD efforts have been highly prioritized since the 1998 North Korean missile launch to cope with the clear and immediate threat from Pyongyang. However, BMD means more for Japan than a mere response to the ballistic threat: It has transformed the organization and command and control system of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF), brought Japan and the United States to deepen their operational cooperation, and changed Japanese thinking about extended deterrence.
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Ballistic Missile Defense in Japan: Deterrence and Military Transformation
Céline PAJON
Chercheuse, responsable de la recherche Japon et Indo-Pacifique, Centre Asie de l'Ifri
Security Studies Center
Heir to a tradition dating back to the founding of Ifri, the Security Studies Center provides public and private decision-makers as well as the general public with the keys to understanding power relations and contemporary modes of conflict as well as those to come. Through its positioning at the juncture of politics and operations, the credibility of its civil-military team and the wide distribution of its publications in French and English, the Center for Security Studies constitutes in the French landscape of think tanks a unique center of research and influence on the national and international defense debate.
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