Japan's Security Policy

April 5, 2023

Bilateral and Multilateral Security Cooperation

 Japan makes efforts to realize a regional security environment desirable for Japan, by strengthening the Japan-U.S. Alliance, and by combining bilateral and multilateral security cooperation at multiple levels.

 Japan has been holding Foreign and Defense Ministerial Consultations, or “2+2” (note: Japan has held “2+2” with the US, Australia, Russia, France, the UK and Indonesia. Japan agreed to launch "2+2" with India), Politico-Military (PM) Dialogues, etc., and strengthening cooperative relations. Japan has also been holding such consultations as the Japan-U.S.-ROK (Summit Meeting/Foreign Ministers’ Meeting), the Japan-U.S.-Australia (Summit Meeting/Trilateral Strategic Dialogue), the Japan-U.S.-India (Summit Meeting/Foreign Ministers’ Meeting) and the Japan-Australia-India-U.S. Consultations, and promoting the building of a network for peace and prosperity in the region.

 In addition, Japan has actively participated in and contributed to multilateral frameworks in the region, including the East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus)Open a New Window in order to strengthen security cooperation in the region.

 Furthermore, in addition to government-to-government dialogues (track 1), Japan actively utilizes frameworks where participants from both public and private sectors (track 1.5) exchange opinions and explain their security policies such as the IISS Asia Security Summit (Shangri-La Dialogue)Open a New Window and the Munich Security Conference as a part of Japan’s efforts to promote other countries’ understanding of Japan’s security policies, and to facilitate cooperation and confidence-building in the region.

Back to Japan's Security Policy