As Biden Visits Hiroshima, U.S. Stands Behind Japan's Military Resurgence

As President Joe Biden visits the first city in history to be hit by atomic warfare brought on by the United States at the end of World War II, his administration stands firmly behind Japan rebuilding its military capabilities against present threats posed by China, Russia and North Korea.

"Japan's acquisition and development of new capabilities, which are defensive in nature, contributes significantly to U.S.-Japan collective security and regional stability," a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Newsweek.

"U.S. and Japanese officials will continue to coordinate closely to deter and, if necessary, respond to the growing threats to the U.S.-Japan Alliance and regional security in Northeast Asia," the spokesperson added.

The military buildup is historic in a nation long sworn to pacifism.

Similar measures have been debated throughout the course of the U.S.-Japan alliance forged after World War II, but significant advances began to take shape under former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. They have been brought along further under current Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, specifically in the form of three documents; the new National Security Strategy, the National Defense Strategy and the Defense Buildup Program, all of which were approved to great acclaim in December.

Among other capabilities, the documents pave the way for Japan to develop advanced fighter jets, hypersonic missiles and attack drones. And while Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang have all expressed wariness over Japan's military resurgence, Washington views the pivot as part of a common objective toward empowering the longstanding alliance in Pacific against shared threats.

"We applaud Japan's commitment to modernize our Alliance through increased investment in enhanced roles, missions, and capabilities and closer defense cooperation with the United States and other Allies and partners," the State Department spokesperson said.

The State Department spokesperson referred to the U.S.-Japan alliance "as the cornerstone of peace, stability, and freedom in the Indo-Pacific region" for nearly 63 years, and said "we continue to work with Japan to address shared regional and global objectives by enhancing our security cooperation with this Alliance."

"For decades," the spokesperson said, "U.S.-Japan military cooperation has been critical not only for Japan's own self-defense but also as an important contribution to the U.S.-Japan Alliance and regional stability in Northeast Asia."

As Japan steps up its military capabilities, Tokyo has also grown more assertive in condemning perceived threats to the international order and a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" (FOIP), a term popularized by Abe and later adopted by Washington and a number of its partners in the region.

"We welcome Japan's increased role in advancing the rules-based international system, including the bold action Japan has taken to hold Russia accountable for its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine," the State Department spokesperson said.

"We continue to work closely with our Japanese allies on security issues, including deterring aggression from the DPRK and coordinating international responses to the DPRK's violations of multiple UN Security Council resolutions," the spokesperson added. "Our commitment to Japan's security is absolute."

One Japanese official recently spoke to Newsweek about concerns regarding Russia's war in Ukraine and the talk of nuclear weapons surrounding it in the leadup to the G7 summit in Hiroshima, warning "Russia's aggression, actually, in my opinion, it's worsening, playing the rhetoric of nuclear usage."

The Japanese official also expressed concerns playing out in the immediate region.

"The Indo-Pacific is the very region that leads global growth in the future, but faces various security and economic challenges," the Japanese official said at the time. "So, we should demonstrate our commitment to FOIP."

To Japan's north, this means contending with Russia's growing military activity in a disputed set of Russia-controlled islands that has prevented Moscow and Tokyo from ever signing a post-World War II peace treaty. To the east, North Korea has accelerated its missile program, occasionally firing directly over Japan and within its exclusive economic zone. And to the southwest, China continues to assert its claims to another set of disputed islands under Japanese control in the East China Sea, while also ramping up missile launches and military drills.

Back in January, Kishida described the Asia-Pacific as one of the "most complex" security environments in recent history. And when the Japanese premier met with Biden in Hiroshima on Thursday ahead of the Group of Seven (G7) leaders' summit set to begin the following day, Biden said he "couldn't agree [with Kishida] more."

But Japan's military rise and tightening security ties with the U.S. and Western allies have also run afoul of Russia, China and North Korea.

Addressing NATO's plans to open an office in Tokyo, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters last week that the move demonstrated further "proof" of "the alliance's global ambitions and plans to seriously entrench in the Asia Pacific, in order to spread NATO-centric formats with anti-Russian and anti-Chinese charge."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin lodged a similar accusation days later, saying, "we have seen NATO constantly strengthening ties with Asia-Pacific countries, and bent on going east into this region, interfering in regional affairs and inciting bloc confrontation."

He also made direct reference to Japan's past, a legacy that has continued to generate controversy in the region to this day.

"The rest of the world is looking closely at whether Japan really wants to spearhead NATO's extension into the Asia-Pacific," Wang said. "Asia is one of the most peaceful and stable regions in the world and a promising place for cooperation and development, not a wrestling ground for geopolitical contest."

"Given Japan's history of militarist aggression during the last century, Japan's military and security moves have been closely watched by its Asian neighbors and the international community," he added. "We urge Japan to draw lessons from history, stay committed to the path of peaceful development, and avoid doing things that could dismantle trust and affect peace and stability in this region."

The comments came ahead of China and Japan's inauguration Tuesday of a bilateral military hotline established in March to communicate on aerial and maritime security.

Pyongyang, with whom Tokyo has no official communications, has also voiced concerns regarding trends in Japanese defense policy.

The official Korean Central News Agency published an analysis Tuesday attributed to North Korea Foreign Ministry Institute of Japan Studies researcher Kim Sol Hwa, who argued that "it is the sinister intention of the U.S. to lay huge siege to China and Russia by inveigling Japan, south Korea and other vassal forces into such typical confrontational blocs for exclusive security cooperation as AUKUS and QUAD and linking them with NATO."

AUKUS refers to the Australia-United Kingdom-U.S. security pact announced in September 2021, and the QUAD refers to the Australia-India-Japan-U.S. Quadrilateral Security Dialogue that has gained new life in recent years amid growing tensions in the Asia-Pacific region.

Referencing Japan's imperialist past, Kim wrote that "Japan's tightened military collusion and nexus with NATO, a pronoun of war and confrontation, will only disturb regional peace and stability and invite instability and irreversible isolation of the archipelago."

"Japan should bear in mind that its military nexus with outsiders and moves for building a military giant will only lead it to the second ruin," the author said.

But just as such statements call upon Tokyo to reckon with its past, Washington too has often been singled by the three powers for having been the only nation to ever use atomic warfare in combat.

On Thursday, Joe Biden became only the second president in history to visit Hiroshima, following former President Barack Obama. The White House has said he planned to pay his respects to the city's memorial remembering the tens of thousands of killed on August 6, 1945, days before a second atomic bomb killed tens of thousands more in Nagasaki.

So far, there have been no plans to apologize for the operation that introduced the world to nuclear warfare and brought an end to the final, Pacific campaign of World War II.

The Japanese official with whom Newsweek recently spoke referenced the city's "tragic history" and said the G7 summit's location would serve as "a reminder that the world and the people have been wise enough not to use nuclear weapons for the 77 years since Hiroshima."

"We want to keep it that way," the Japanese official added.

The U.S. State Department spokesperson agreed.

"As long as nuclear weapons exist," the State Department spokesperson told Newsweek, "the United States and other nuclear weapon states have a special charge to be responsible custodians of these nuclear capabilities and work with a sense of urgency to create a security environment that would ultimately allow for their elimination."

"Nuclear weapons have not been employed in more than 77 years," the spokesperson added. "While ensuring our security, our goal is to extend this record of non-use and reduce the risk of nuclear war that could have catastrophic effects for the United States and the world."