Japan’s China-facing military build-up confronts labour, budget and political limits

Intelligence summary

The risk of a conflict over Taiwan is shaping Japanese defence planning, with Tokyo shoring up security at home and abroad for a potentially prolonged fight. But there are economic, demographic and political constraints on how far its military transformation can go. In the third of a three-part series, Gabriel Dominguez examines the various challenges confronting Japan in its bid to expand its military. Driven by the growing risk that a conflict over Taiwan could draw Tokyo into a high-intensity