On Saturday, Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba promised to strengthen Japan's military and strengthen its relationship with the United States under President-elect Donald Trump.  Speaking at an annual troop review in Tokyo, Ishiba said that Japan and the world are facing increased security threats from China, Russia, and North Korea. 

Ishiba is committed to boosting Japan's military power in response to these growing tensions. He stated that Chinese and Russian warplanes entering Japanese airspace earlier this year not only violated Japan's sovereignty but also put Japan's safety at risk, which is completely unacceptable. He also mentioned that Japan is facing increasing threats from China's growing military presence near its coasts and from North Korea's repeated missile launches.

In his speech to hundreds of troops, Ishiba emphasised the need to strengthen Japan's diplomacy and security in light of the current complex security challenges. He highlighted the Japan-US alliance as crucial for this effort and committed to improving Japan's relationship with the United States, working closely with President Trump as they had discussed in a recent phone call. Ishiba became Japan's leader on October 1, taking over from the unpopular Fumio Kishida. However, his party suffered a significant loss in a recent election, which may make it difficult for him to implement his party's policies and budget plans in the near future. 

Under his predecessor Fumio Kishida's 2022 security strategy, Ishiba promised to pursue the ongoing military buildup plan, which breaks with the self-defence only principle and calls for a counter-strike capability with long-range cruise missiles. Ishiba stated that in order to enhance the coordination between Japanese and American forces, he would work to strengthen the command structure. After Japan's major defeat in World War II, it focused more on rebuilding its economy than on strengthening its military, thanks to its constitution, which renounced war. However, in recent years, Japan has been gradually building up its defence capabilities.