The evolution of Japan's defense strategy and security policy during Fumio Kishida’s priministership (2021-2023)

The fundamental developments in the geopolitics of East Asia, along with the change in regional and international power equations, have forced Japan to reconsider its commitment to pacifism enshrined in the constitution. In this framework, the evolution of Japan's security and defense strategy after Fumio Kishida (known as the Kishida Doctrine) became priminister has become more noticeable than Shinzo Abe priministership. The current research tries to answer the question of what components have influenced the evolution of Japan's security and defense strategy during the Kishda era and the presentation of his doctrine. The main argument of the article is that the transformation in Japan's defense-security strategy is a response to the international and regional structural changes caused by the emergence of China as a system-challenging actor and the uncertainty of the commitments of the United States in its all-round support in the event of the occurrence of war and acute geopolitical tensions. Based on the theory of neo-realism, the findings of the research show the international and regional structural dynamics resulting from the global and regional intersection between China and the United States, the increasing pressure of the United States on Japan in order to increase the broader security and defense role, the increase in the arms race in East Asia, the international implications of Russia's attack on Ukraine, and the increase in Russian military movements in northern Japan, along with the stable factors of the increase in North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, have influenced the evolution of Japan's defense and security strategy. Therefore, Kishida's doctrine, emphasizing the necessity of playing a more dynamic role in global and regional politics and increasing the capabilities of defense-military capabilities, indicates Japan's turn from the previous defense strategy to the behavior of balancing active forces.