Thinking About China
Opinion

The Best Advice Washington Ever Got on US–Japan Defense

The Best Advice Washington Ever Got on US–Japan Defense
Japan's Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin listen to Japan's national anthem during an honor cordon at the Pentagon in Washington on May 4, 2022. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Grant Newsham
|Updated:
0:00
Commentary

It’s exhilarating that Japanese leaders are talking about spending much more on defense and improving the nation’s defense capabilities. But they are short on specifics, and with communist China out looking for a fight, it’s dangerous to hope Japan figures things out at its own pace.

Grant Newsham
Grant Newsham
Author
Grant Newsham is a retired U.S. Marine officer and a former U.S. diplomat and business executive with many years in the Asia/Pacific region. He is a senior fellow with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies (Tokyo) and Center for Security Policy and the Yorktown Institute in Washington, D.C. He is the author of the best selling book “When China Attacks: A Warning to America.”
Related Topics