Context
This man who goes by the name Akikinn is a former member of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. On YouTube, he speaks about issues related to Japan’s military capacity, national security, self-defense, and warfare. This video is one of his most viral videos with 1.7 million views. In the video, he warns the audience about problems in Japan’s national defense not reported by the media.
Highlights
In the video, he lists 6 threats to Japan’s national security that are not reported by media:
- Russia’s nuclear capacity
- North Korean missiles
- Japan’s lack of capacity to launch drone attacks
- Taiwan affairs
- Grey zone (a war concept that refers to the contested space between peace and direct conflict, such as political warfare and irregular warfare)
- Japan’s lack of capacity to handle missile attacks
He argues that Japan has no capacity to address national security crises in these 6 areas and the media avoids discussing these problems.
Translation
Russia’s nuclear capacity
I’m trying to say this as calmly as possible, but Russia is serious about planning an attack on Japan. This is very serious. Russia is prepared and ready to attack Japan when circumstances demand it. It’s very problematic that the media doesn’t talk about this. If Russia shoots missiles at us, we have no capacity to defend ourselves.
North Korean missiles
North Korea tried shooting missiles at us very recently. The Japanese government called the event “unfortunate.” The government tried to cover it up by dismissing it as an unfortunate event. In Japan, people are getting used to and normalizing North Korea shooting missiles at us. I think this is bizarre. I think the government and the people’s attitudes toward this are bizarre. I think the government should seriously explain the implications and consequences to the people.
Japan’s lack of capacity to launch drone attacks
If you look at contemporary wars like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, you will see that drone attacks are playing an important role. Even though Japan’s self-defense forces are investing in drones, both the quality and quantity are insufficient.
Taiwan affairs
The threat regarding Taiwan is getting more and more serious. Japan’s strategy regarding Taiwan is to expect the US to handle it, but I think we are over-relying on the US. I question whether Trump will defend Taiwan. I think we need to have discussions about this. I wonder if the Ministry of Self Defense can handle this.
Grey Zone
Japan’s self-defense forces can’t do anything about grey zone tactics that are not outright invasions. Even if our enemies keep strengthening their grey zone attacks against us, there is nothing we can do. This is scary, since they can eat us up bit by bit.
Japan’s lack of capacity to handle missile attacks
It’s impossible for Japan to defend itself against missile attacks. Regarding all the missile attacks you see on TV in the Russia-Ukraine war with the newest military technologies, Japan has no capacity to shoot them down. Japan has its own anti-missile system, but it won’t be effective.
Japan has no capacity to fight back against any of the above threats. I think the government is anxious about this. The Ministry of Defense sees how fast military technology is evolving and they are worried. However, Japan’s military capacity is restricted by the following factors.
National defense budget
Our national defense budget is restricted to 1.6% of the GDP. It’s clearly not enough to defend ourselves against all of Russia, China, and North Korea.
Restriction by the Constitution
Our Constitution severely limits our military capacity. People have been pushing for changes to the Constitution, but our government hasn’t made any progress.
Lack of manpower in the self-defense forces
The government is recently talking about raising the pay for self-defense forces, but it keeps delaying the raise. Prime Minister Ishiba is not being helpful. Members of the self-defense forces are unhappy about the situation. Japan is suffering from low birth rates and lack of young people, so there are fewer and fewer people applying to enter the forces.
Lack of preparation for military emergencies
Japan lacks preparation for military emergencies, such as shelters for missile attacks, emergency supplies, and civilian education about handling emergencies. I’m sure you know what to do during earthquakes, but have you ever received education on what to do during a missile attack? This is obviously a problem with people assuming that peace is normalized.
Lack of defense against cyber attacks
Cyber warfare is the norm nowadays. Our government’s system is very fragile against cyber attacks. We are completely unprepared for cyber and AI warfare. The Japanese government is severely lagging behind in contemporary technologies, and it urgently needs to collaborate with civilian forces to catch up.
Lack of defense intelligence
Even though many think badly of spying activities, I think we should be furthering our spying efforts. We are lagging behind in intelligence warfare.
Weakness in defending remote islands
As of now, our capacity to defend against invasions targeting the remote islands is very limited. Due to limitations imposed by the Constitution, even if we send self-defense forces to the remote islands during an invasion, there’s nothing we can do.
Lack of capacity to address greyzone attacks
We have limited capacity to address provocations that aren’t clearly acts of military invasions, such as intrusions into our air and maritime spaces. There’s nothing we can do.
Lack of technology modernization
We are lagging behind in modernizing military technologies such as drones, AI, and long distance missiles. We are not catching up with China and North Korea. Many Japanese people are against developing nuclear power, but we don’t even have the basic capacity to defend ourselves. Our self-defense forces are still using very old technologies.
Lack of awareness among civilians
Japanese people are too naive in assuming that peace is the norm. We aren’t being prepared for military emergencies. We aren’t aware of the threats. Even when the Ministry of Defense prepares for the possibility of missile attacks, it asks the media to not report it to avoid causing panic among civilians, despite the fact that civilians will be the main victims during attacks.
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