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Japan’s obsession with economic security
Exactly like any strategic security policy, Japan’s economic security is focused on both “protection and growth” aspects.
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United States President Joe Biden pats Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the back as they walk down the West Wing Colonnade to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, the US, on Jan. 13. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
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n the last few months, particularly after the release of Japan’s new National Security Strategy (NSS) document in December of last year, the phrase “economic security” has acquired inordinate attention in the media and academia.
Japan is perhaps among the select few countries that are very seriously working on the adoption of the concept of economic security. In fact, in Japan’s NSS document, the authors have tried to equalize the weight of strategic security with economic security.
The intense focus on economic security by the Kishida regime is palpable in every action. Apparently, two key factors have driven Japanese policymakers to pursue economic security with so much fervor. One is China, and the other is the craving for the acquisition of critical emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Interestingly, unlike the main chapter of the NSS, which categorically declares China the “disruptive force” for regional and global stability, the paragraphs on economic security do not explicitly mention China as a rival in this domain.
In many ways, Japan’s economic security policies, which embody the concept of shoring up national interests from an economic perspective, are different from other countries, including the United States, which has waged a trade war against China in the name of protecting economic interests.
Envisioned in 2019 by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as a part of formal recommendation, Japan’s “economic security strategy” was officially released by the party in the last quarter of 2020. The last two years have seen consistent work by the LDP leadership to lay down a comprehensive implementation plan, which includes supply chain resiliency, nurturing of critical industries of the future as well as induction of the corporate sector in the whole process.
An entire section has been dedicated to “Promoting Economic Security Policies to Achieve Autonomous Economic Prosperity” in the country’s new 26-page NSS document. The most striking part of economic security in Japan is the plan to redesign the entire government structure and functions on the basis of this central theme.
