Latest news with #NationalSecuritySecretariat
Asahi Shimbun
3 days ago
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Japan weighs spending more on U.S. military facilities
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 7 (Kotaro Ebara) The government is considering boosting its annual spending on U.S. military facilities in Japan by tens of billions of yen to appease the Trump administration, although the amount may not be satisfactory. The White House National Security Council called for increasing Japan's contribution to the costs of maintaining U.S. troops in the country when officials of the National Security Secretariat visited the United States in early May, government sources said. Japan's host nation support for U.S. forces stationed in the country averages about 211 billion yen ($1.5 billion) per fiscal year. The government is considering increasing its spending on the Facilities Improvement Program, part of the host nation programs, by tens of billions of yen, or hundreds of millions of dollars, the sources said. Under the program, Japan builds and provides barracks for U.S. troops, housing for their families, administration buildings and disaster management facilities, among other infrastructure. The Defense Ministry is expected to decide on specific facilities based on requests from the U.S. military, the sources said. U.S. President Donald Trump complained about Japan's share of the costs of stationing U.S. forces in the country when he met with economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, who serves as the government's lead negotiator on U.S. tariffs, in Washington in mid-April. The issue has been discussed between the U.S. National Security Council and Japan's National Security Secretariat. Akazawa and his U.S. counterpart, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have been negotiating two other issues raised by Trump during the White House meeting: sales of U.S. automobiles in Japan and the U.S. trade deficit with Japan. Trump, who has labeled Japan's financial burden for hosting U.S. troops as unfair since his first administration, may demand a further increase even if Japan proposes shouldering more of the costs. 'I do not think that Trump will be satisfied with that level (of increase),' a senior Defense Ministry official said of the tens of billions of yen under discussion. During Trump's first term as U.S. president, Japan-U.S. negotiations on Tokyo's host nation support went nowhere due partly to confusion and chaos within his administration. A senior official of the prime minister's office said the latest negotiations with the United States are in the early stages and that it is still impossible to foresee a way forward. (This article was written by Mizuki Sato and Azusa Kato.)
Asahi Shimbun
5 days ago
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Trump calls Ishiba, boasts about Mideast trip, pitches F-47
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba with President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 7 (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Japanese government officials are trying to determine the purpose behind U.S. President Donald Trump's sudden phone call to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Was Trump setting the stage for demands that Japan buy U.S. fighter jets? Was he trying to get closer to someone he believes is a like-minded leader? Or was the U.S. president just seeking someone to stroke his ego? According to Ishiba administration officials, the U.S. side, via the National Security Secretariat, approached Ishiba on the morning of May 23 and said, 'U.S. President Trump has asked, 'Can we talk in a few hours?'' That exchange occurred just before Japan's top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, left for the United States for talks on Trump's tariffs. Several senior Japanese government officials said they feared Trump would strengthen his demands that Japan import more U.S. agricultural products or would flat out reject Japanese requests to lower the tariffs. However, when the phone call began at 11 a.m., Trump's tone was so relaxed that the Japanese side was taken aback. 'It was as if (Trump) was lying down and talking,' a senior official at the prime minister's office said. Trump gave a rundown of his recent trip to the Middle East and praised himself for his 'great accomplishments.' Ishiba chimed in, saying Trump is committed to peace. Trump then said he would like to further strengthen the military to achieve peace, to which Ishiba agreed was a very good idea. The topic in this friendly and casual conversation then shifted from the Middle East to U.S.-made fighter jets, officials said. Trump mentioned the F-47, the sixth-generation fighter jet manufactured by Boeing that was announced in March. He said the '47' in 'F-47' is a good number, and asked Ishiba to agree with him. The F-47, which will replace the F-22, and is believed to be named in honor of Trump, the 47th president of the United States. Trump also praised the F-22, which the United States has never tried to sell to Japan, and the F-55, which is considered an upgraded version of the F-35 fighter. He said the United States has such great fighter jets and asked Ishiba if he would like to take a look at them. Trump added that he will get 'the best' for Japan, the officials said. Sources said Trump is aware of Japan's joint development of a fighter jet with Britain and Italy. However, Trump only causally asked Ishiba if Japan was interested in buying U.S.-made fighter jets, officials said. He never urged Japan to purchase them in conjunction with the tariff negotiations. The topic of fighter jets may have come up because during the Japan-U.S. summit in February, Ishiba showed interest in the C-17, a large U.S.-made transport aircraft, officials said. 'Trump must have thought, 'Well, (Ishiba) would understand (aircraft),' so he went into the in-depth exchange,' one official surmised. However, Japan would have to overcome a number of obstacles to change its fighter aircraft models, such as pilot training and maintenance. For this reason, the Japanese government is taking a cautious approach to Trump's comments about fighter jets. At this point, there are no plans for Ishiba to inspect military aircraft in the United States, sources said. Although the main purpose of Trump's trip to the Middle East was to secure business deals, the key issue in the region is peace, something that Trump has failed to secure so far. 'When Trump returns from the Middle East, he will be criticized by his opponents. That's probably why he said, 'Let's call (Ishiba) who will listen to me,'' a Japanese government official said. Ishiba himself is becoming increasingly confident that he and Trump have chemistry, the official said. During the 45-minute phone call, Trump and Ishiba agreed to hold a summit in conjunction with the G-7 conference to be held in Canada in mid-June.
Asia Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- Asia Times
Japan sets the pace for private sector economic security management
Japan continues to pace like-minded governments when making economic security policy. Successive administrations in Tokyo have made economic security a priority, passing legislation and adjusting the bureaucracy to realize those ambitions. Those efforts continue. Governments concerned about economic security should be studying Japan's efforts and work with Tokyo to address these challenges. Only concerted efforts by countries alone and together can ensure economic security. Of special significance are increasing efforts by the government to work with the private sector to increase awareness of economic security and hone private businesses' response to this challenge. These efforts, too, are pacing the world. Japan, like other countries, has been forced to address threats to economic security. Its consciousness of those dangers preceded that of other governments. The country was subject to economic coercion – a cutoff of important rare earths exports from China – in 2010 after the arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain who illegally entered the waters surrounding the Senkaku islands. That incident shook Japanese decision-makers. More significantly, it wasn't a one-off: Economic coercion became an increasingly frequent and favored tactic of Beijing. The first step in the promotion of economic security by Tokyo was the creation in 2020 of an economic bureau in the National Security Secretariat. This move prompted ministries throughout the government to prioritize economic security as well; many of them established economic security offices to focus efforts. Fumio Kishida, then the prime minister, picked up the pace during his administration. He made economic security a pillar of his government's growth strategy; his seriousness was clear in October 2022 when he established the position of minister in charge of economic security in his cabinet. The same year, Japan passed the Economic Security Promotion Act (ESPA) with the aim of promoting Japan's economic security by ensuring its strategic autonomy and indispensability. The legislation has four pillars: ensuring a stable supply of specific critical materials, securing the stable provision of critical infrastructure, supporting the development of specific critical technologies, and implementing a secret patent system. Building on the first pillar, manufacturers of certain materials – which have been categorized as 'critical' based on their importance for the survival of the Japanese population, dependence on foreign suppliers and the risks of supply chain disruption due to foreign actions – are encouraged to submit stable supply plans to the government. If a manufacturer's plan is approved, it receives subsidies to offset some of the costs of applying that plan. By June 2024, 85 plans related to semiconductors, batteries, machine tools, fertilizers and antimicrobial substances had been certified, with subsidies totaling $6 billion. As for the second pillar, over 200 companies across 15 sectors, including energy, logistics and finance, have been designated as critical infrastructure companies. These companies must undergo government review when implementing critical information systems, providing detailed supplier information down to the end of the supply chain and reporting on risk management measures. The government can then demand improvements in risk mitigation strategies or changes in suppliers. Some regulatory agencies have even requested the exclusion of Chinese and Russian companies from supply chains. Regarding the third pillar, Japan has identified 50 crtiical technology areas including maritime, space, aviation, cyberspace and biotechnology sectors and has allocated approximately $3.5 billion for research and development support. The last pillar of ESPA, the secret patent system, covers fields such as aircraft stealth and concealment technologies, attack and defense systems for submarines and technologies related to the disassembly and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and heavy water, which could cause substantial harm to Japan's public life and economic activities. Twenty-five technology fields have been identified, and when companies or research institutions file for patents in these areas the government can designate the technical content that needs to be preserved and not applied in commercial use, compensating for any losses resulting from the restrictions. This system has been operational since May 2024. Another critical economic security policy is the security clearance system based on the Act on the Protection and Utilization of Critical Economic Security Information, which was passed in May 2024. This system expands the scope of protected information beyond the traditional realms of defense and diplomacy to include economic security-related data. This will strengthen Japan's ability to manage and share sensitive information. Japan is also actively updating existing policies to enhance economic security. A notable example is the recent revision of the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (FEFTA), which now includes new regulations requiring certain technology transfers abroad to be reported to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). This change is a direct response to incidents in which Japanese-developed technologies were utilized in ways that could jeopardize national security. METI's recent public tender from the Economic Security Policy Division of the Trade and Economic Security Bureau reflects the Japanese government's commitment to engaging the private sector more fully to address economic security challenges. The government intends to establish an economic security code of conduct for businesses. While the specifics of this code are not yet available, broad guidelines that extend beyond the ESPA could lead to increased investments among the private sector in critical areas such as supply chain resilience, information protection and open-source intelligence. Given the collaborative culture of Japanese companies' interaction with authorities, any guidelines published by METI are likely to become the standard for economic security management among Japanese firms. As a result, major Japanese global corporations will likely require non-Japanese supply chain partners to adhere to these guidelines as well. Consequently, this new policy from the Japanese government could soon give rise to a 'Tokyo effect' in economic security management within the private sector with international consequences, shaping not only Japanese multinational companies but all their contractors as well. That would be good for Japan and for countries that emulate it. Shotaro Nagino ( is a Young Leader at Pacific Forum and a senior manager at a global consulting firm in Tokyo, where he leads economic security consulting and engages with the global business and academic communities in policy research and assessment, corporate strategy formulation, organizational design and reform. Brad Glosserman (brad@ is deputy director at the Center for Rule-Making Strategies, Tama University and senior advisor at Pacific Forum.
