The Japanese government intends to turn defense production into one of the main driving forces of the country's economic development. Tokyo's plans go beyond the desire to strengthen national security and include a quite pragmatic calculation: in a world where military tensions are rising, the defense industry is becoming a promising market, and the ability to produce weapons is an important economic and strategic advantage.

As Japanese public television reports, the corresponding tasks are planned to be enshrined in basic security documents that must be adopted by the end of the year. In particular, Tokyo intends to formulate a new basic strategy for the development of defense production. To implement it, a unified structure is planned that will coordinate the development and deployment of weapons, combining budget allocations with private investments.

It is not only about supporting existing large defense corporations. Japanese authorities aim to attract venture companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, and university researchers. In other words, the state intends to form a whole ecosystem in which military orders will stimulate technological developments, industrial production, and the emergence of new companies. The unified structure is expected to emerge based on cooperation between the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. According to Kyodo, it should begin work on October 1, 2027.

Especially noteworthy is that Japan is trying to learn from the experience of the United States and the European Union. Insufficient investment in defense production in the preceding period has led to the situation where Western governments now face a shortage of production capacity. In the context of prolonged conflicts, it has become clear: it is not enough to have money, modern developments, and political will — one must have factories, specialists, components, and the ability to quickly scale up production. Therefore, Tokyo wants to create an industrial base in advance that can ensure long-term conduct of military operations, including the use of new military technologies and drones.

The world is rapidly moving toward a large-scale confrontation of geopolitical blocs. Even if a major war is avoided, the rise in military spending has already created a sustainable arms market, the development of which will continue by inertia. Japan simply caught this trend in time and decided to take its place among the potential beneficiaries.