Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had a profound psychological impact on Japan. Senior officials have said it makes a war of aggression more likely in the Asia-Pacific, and since the war broke out, most of the Japanese public now support beefing up the armed forces.

The Japanese are rattled by China’s military expansion, patrols near Japanese waters, challenges to Japan’s ownership of the Senkaku Islands, and bellicosity towards Taiwan. In August 2022, China fired five missiles into Japan’s exclusive economic zone.