Japan doubles down on defending the post-war order

Japan has gone all-in with the Western response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Putin's aggression has also accelerated debate in Japan about its own strategy and future military preparedness. Diplomacy with Russia intensified after Japan and China clashed in the East China Sea over the Senkaku Islands, resulting in increased Chinese Coast Guard and People's Liberation Army activities in and around Japanese territorial waters. In 2019, Russian aircraft peeled off from a joint Chinese-Russian exercise to enter the airspace of the Takeshima Islands - territory that is disputed between South Korea and Japan - in a deliberate attempt to exacerbate tensions between the two US allies. Tokyo's position on the Russian invasion also reflects the growing strategic ties between Japan and Europe. As the war in Ukraine has unfolded, the focus on the collective defence provisions enshrined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty has opened new avenues for consultation between Japan and other Asia Pacific allies. This was a risk Kishida was willing to reckon with as he doubled down on Japan's strategy of defending the post-war 'rules-based order', and it is a risk that Japan cannot avoid as tensions across the Taiwan Strait continue to rise.