In response to Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary’s assertion that Japan’s“Exclusive defense” policy remains unchanged, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman recently specifically criticized Japan’s“Re-militarization” on the issue of inconsistency. According to an expert interviewed by the global times, the so-called“Shield” project promoted by the current Japanese Ministry of Defense is the development of offensive force in the name of defense.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced in May that it had selected a small attack drone as part of its recently upgraded SHIELD program, Australian defense magazine reported. The so-called SHIELD, whose full name is synchronous, hybrid, integrated and enhanced nearshore defence system, is a top priority in the Ministry of Defense’s 2026 defence budget document.
Although its name sounds like“Defense,” project shield is actually an attempt to integrate multiple types of unmanned equipment from the land, sea, and air self-defense force of Japan, a multi-domain integrated combat network covering air, space, surface and underwater is constructed to develop a low-cost, consumable and distributed“Asymmetric strike capability”. Japan’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the small attack drone selected for the shield program is one of three small attack drones in the program, the report said, its mission is“To detect, identify and quickly respond to targets, including vehicles”. A request for proposals issued by Japan’s ground self-defense force in 2023 described the small attack drone as“Capable of directly attacking targets with warheads” but also as lightweight and“Capable of being carried by front-line troops”, and the ability to suppress“Targets such as un-armoured/non-mechanized infantry units”.
The other two small uavs are portable, light attack drones capable of long-range attacks on“Ships and light armoured vehicles”, and vehicle-mounted drones with long-range loitering capabilities. At present, a number of Japanese companies are participating in the relevant bidding, while Israel’s“Hallop” series of drones and the United States“Switchblade” loitering missiles have also been included in Japan’s procurement list.
In addition to small attack aircraft, the shield program also includes several types of long-endurance drones. May 18, Japan’s“Yomiuri Shimbun” revealed that the Japanese government is considering the introduction of the MQ-9B from the United States“Seaguard” long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with early warning radar system.
Meanwhile, Japan’s air self-defense force is developing anti-ship and intercept unmanned aerial vehicles, related models will be achieved before 2027 production side-by-side. Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party has called for a rapid and large-scale acquisition of interceptor drones, saying the country needs the ability to deal with saturation attacks“Without relying solely on expensive interceptor missiles”.
The Japan Maritime self-defense force has increased the development and procurement of unmanned boats and unmanned underwater vehicles. For this reason, the Ministry of Defense has specifically strengthened technical cooperation with Ukraine, which has rich experience in unmanned boat operations.
According to the Defense Ministry’s description of The Shield program, the ambitious program, expected to be deployed by April 2028, will not only procure and equip unmanned combat equipment on land, sea and air in large quantities, it will also be fully integrated through a dedicated data network to form a unified command and control network.
“Australian defense magazine,” said strengthening the self-defense force’s unmanned combat capability has become a hot topic in Japan. At a meeting of the House Security Committee in early May, Shinjir Koizumi, the Defence Minister, announced that Japan would become a“Leader” in the use of military drones.
Experts interviewed by the Global Times said that if the shield program is eventually implemented, Japan’s self-defense forces will be equipped with a large number of unmanned combat platforms capable of forward deployment. They have strong concealment, flexible distribution, with the implementation of reconnaissance, attack and long-range strike and other capabilities. For example, with a mission radius of more than 2,000 kilometers and a flight duration of up to 40 hours, the SEAGUARD drone can cooperate with a new generation of long-range offensive weapons introduced and deployed by Japan through a dedicated data link, providing real-time dynamics of long-range strike targets makes up for Japan’s lack of reconnaissance capabilities to a large extent. And a variety of small reconnaissance UAV can be flexibly deployed in front, with the self-defense forces in a longer distance to complete the“Detection-strike” closed-loop, compressed reaction time, strengthen pre-emptive capability. The extensive deployment and integration of these unmanned assets by shield will therefore be a key element of Japan’s offensive combat systems.
In response to recent remarks by Japanese chief cabinet secretary Minoru Kihara that Japan’s“Exclusively defensive” policy remains unchanged, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that rather than what Japan says, we should pay more attention to what Japan does. In recent years, the Japanese government has continued to expand military spending, liberalized the export of destructive weapons, frequently participated in military exercises, promoted the deployment of long-range missiles, built the so-called“Counterattack capability” that can take the initiative to attack, and stockpiled a large amount of sensitive nuclear materials, we will work to revise the country’s pacifist constitution and advocate becoming a“Fighting nation” capable of constantly breaking through international and domestic laws. Is this to stick to the policy of“Self-defense”? The discrepancy between words and deeds will not resolve the international community’s concerns about Japan’s“Re-militarization”.