Fast Market Research recommends "Japan Defence & Security Report Q1 2013" from Business Monitor International, now available

Boston, MA -- (SBWire) -- 03/08/2013 --BMI's Japan Defence & Security Report for Q1 2013 examines the country's strategic position in the East Asian region and the wider world. It provides an overview of the contemporary geopolitical challenges facing the country, and the trials it may face in the future.

The report examines the trends occurring in the country's current and future defence procurement, and the order of battle across its armed forces. The intention is to provide a clear and concise discussion of these issues. The report's general conclusion is that in spite of growing concern about China's military rise, Japan looks set to remain heavily dependent on the United States as the guarantor of its security. Indeed, worsening relations with China over a long-running territorial dispute have not been sufficient to alter Japan's trajectory of shrinking defence spending. The 2013 defence budget will be Japan's smallest in over 20 years.

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However, the declining budget is more a reflection of the country's difficult fiscal position than of its geopolitical outlook. The latest dispute with China shook Japan very badly, as Japanese businesses in China were attacked and the prospect of conflict with an increasingly powerful China appeared more and more likely. The ascent of hawkish politicians in Tokyo - notably ex-prime minister and new LDP leader Shinzo Abe - could spell a more confrontational approach to Chinese relations if, as expected, the LDP regains power in 2013. Even more significantly, perhaps, Abe has floated the idea of abandoning the selfdefensive posture of the Japanese military, which would be "normalised" and turned into an armed force with a both defensive and offensive mission set.

Already there are signs of a shift in Japan's military posture, as the JSDF considers the contingency of having to occupy or retake islands like Diaoyu/Senkaku. Amphibious landing drills with US Marines and a plan to acquire amphibious armoured vehicles - the JSDF's first overtly offensive platform - are clear signs that the need to protect Japan's more remote islands is a rising priority for the Japanese armed forces.

Over the last quarter BMI has revised the following forecasts/views:

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