I’ve been looking for a new series since China’s Reckoning and finally found something I think you’ll enjoy. To tide you over before Part 2, you can watch the Nebula-exclusive bonus video for just $15/year with CusiosityStream + Nebula: curiositystream.com/polymatter Hope you enjoy. -Evan
I'm gonna guess the real reason is there's no political will, and its political suicide to try to push for those policies so all politicians play it safe and try not to rock the boat, in order to stay in office for as long as possible.
I agree on a lot of points, but would like to add that the sheer number of troops (especially ground troops) is not a priority for Japan. As an island nation, the single biggest defense and military expenditure is Japan's navy, as it is pretty much it's first and only line of defense. The JMSDF is one of the biggest and finest blue water navies in the world, even overtaking the Royal Navy in gross tonnage. Force projection, protecting the home islands and securing trade routes is what they are about. Also, Japan is not in this fight alone, they're allied with most western powers in the region, especially the US. Since it's pacifist stance is a US decree after WWII, the US is semi-responsible for Japan's protection. Conversely, Japan also has been the US' and NATOS shield against the Soviet Union (and to some extent China). It is those two things that Japan has to trust in: It's JMSDF and it's US/NATO allies.
@@fakeninja4447 The US Navy always swings its Carrier Fleets around Asia whenever someone acts up and they constantly do fly-by mission through China's man made islands to contest China's claim over the South China Sea. The US Navy has shown it's continued interest in the Asia Pacific regardless of the previous Republican or even the current Democratic President. People like to claim that China's has been pushing US' around but the reality is that it's more of a waltz.
The Japanese pacifist constitution was an imposition of the US after the war and in return the US pledged to defend Japan. The army that has to defend Japan is the American army. Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan Article 5 commits the United States to defend Japan if it is attacked by a third party.
@@KaelVidos20 The US pulled out of Afghanistan this Summer leaving a significant number of their allies to die at the hands of the Taliban. The Taliban is far weaker than China, Afghanistan had stopped being an active war for years and there wasn't the risk of bringing the end of the world. Ukraine lost Crimea and despite signing a direct deal in 1994 with the US and UK promising they would protect their territorial integrity. Of course the US would be prepared to break a treaty with Japan.
Japan is essentially a US protectorate. It is not Taiwan, and there is no "strategic ambiguity" when it comes to the US response should it ever be threatened or attacked by one of its neighbors.
@@jcc7912 Actually it is the other way around. By "self" limiting its defense budget to 1% max GDP (and forcing the US to pick up the rest of the tab) Japan poured over 99% of its budget into postwar economic recovery, and wow did it work. It was the foreign policy experts in the US who were the ones complaining about having to subsidize the JSDF. It is all a matter of perspective of who is using whom ;)
@@jcc7912 Canada is in the same boat as Japan. It only spends 1-2% on its military. It does not need more because it knows that the US would never allow it to be attacked, and Canada is fine with that relationship. Basically if the situation ever arises that the US cannot defend Canada and Japan, then those countries and the rest of the world will have bigger problems to worry about.
the biggest elephant of the room of this "pacifist paradox" is the United States. a lot of other comments already said it but japan defence policy hinges on their alliance with US and the military bases that US keeps in japan, also a lot of japanese defence tech benefits from US tech cooperation. so calling japan a US protectorate isn't farfetched. but IMO that has been good for japan, since it freed them from the burden of mantaining a huge military-industrial complex.
Unless I missed it in the video, if another country attacks Japan, the treaty Japan has with the U.S means that the U.S immediately takes control of Japan's SDF and coordinates its defense. It's the strongest treaty between two nations on the planet. An attack on Japan is the same is if you attacked California - you'd find yourself at war with the United States. The treaty is called, "Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security" and has been in place since 1960.
This and the fact they can't go to war so it's all defense forces which is why their navy is super strong, don't have to protect an island if they can't even get onto said island needing protection.
An island could potentially have a massive navy comprised of highly automated vessels with very small crew. War require soldiers, but depending on your geography and defense requirement, some countries need more than others.
@@AndenMowe-hh5qk No the cowards were just afraid of death and preferred to bomb the place to submission instead of going on the ground. What difference does it make to China if you’re devastating the country anyways
This is exactly why Japan is effectively an American puppet state: it is always subject to the threats of American military force or change of regime through control of the media via proxies. That is why Japan had to revalue it's yen when the US commanded it to in 1984, effectively destroying the Japanese economy, rendering it no longer a threat to American economic supremacy
number of ground foot soldier does not translate to strength nowadays. rather it seems to demonstrate poor management of the army and bad priorities in funding it more often than not. Besides, like the UK, Japan is an island and can afford to have a more specialized and smaller force, since ground invasions would be more difficult for enemies.
I agree, but Japan does need to up it's spending as it's currently only spending 1% of it's GDP. That's very very low considering the neighborhood Japan is in. 2% of GDP should be the minimum, and revise the constitution to allow some offensive deterrence.
Japan is not the US - they cannot afford to spend a trillion dollars on a single fighter that isnt even finished. Besides, more expensive projects dont guarantee they're better. If that was the case the US would have already conquered Russia, but they havent. Besides, the US tried to scam Japan with some anti-missle systems, but they wanted Japan to pre-pay them, and hope they get them the next 10 years when they're already obsolete.
@@arvinoo5881 What exactly does offensive deterrence mean? That's a really shit idea because as your man said it's not only political suicide it will definitely turn the west against them as it's basically a return to Imperial Japan
Japan is indigenously developing their own 5th generation fighter and was a tier 1 partner for the F-35 program. They are not averse to big spending projects on defense that they judge to be worthwhile (and in F-35’s case it absolutely is, what other 5th gen sells for $77mil a unit? That’s a bargain). Japan was also the first country to develop an AESA radar for a production fighter, among many other things. They’re certainly not as far behind as countries in Europe are in terms of defense. They may have a small ground force, but the JASDF and JNSDF are quite capable forces for a country Japan’s size.
Polymatter literally addressed this. Numbers aren't always important and tech can make the difference, but SK, Russia, Taiwan and China all have comparable or even better military technology which makes any single Japanese soldier qualitatively weaker than any of its neighbors' soldiers. Sitting back and defending their island is hardly a doctrine to take up in wartime for the 4th wealthiest country in the world. If it's like Taiwan who has no chance for survival except waiting for coalition reinforcement, sure. But Japan has loads more options than Taiwan and has much more freedom of movement. UK maybe an island, but they had a solid plan in case of war on the eve of 1939, their mobilization plan was quite fantastic from previous experience in WW1 and they fought all over the world and contributed 40% of the Normandy invasion force. Can Japan do this? Currently, absolutely not. It essentially only serves as a floating military base for US soldiers and potential coalition members to mass for an amphibious assault on China. Even if Japan wants to only sit back and defend, it's in range of crapton of missiles from China, NK and Russia. Do they have enough air defense capabilities to counter this? Are their military capabilities actually enough to defend against a potential invasion convoy? Japan's defense capabilities seem more in common with Germany against D-Day than UK vs historical French or German invasion plans.
@@dragonstormdipro1013 It’s doesn’t matter. Chakra is no match against India’s most powerful warriors: Aries Mu and Virgo Shaka. Aries Mu is a Kashmir Alchemist and Virgo Shaka is Anti-nihilistic Buddhist.
tho... it's limited numbers... what can it do with only a few f35? offensive? that's like shooting fish in the barrel... defensive? dark looks from everyone else in the region, except for US...
@@TeaDrinkingColonist troop transport dock. (TTD) (a new class I came up with) it would need though abilities for marines to disembark for it to work which would limit it’s capacity.
After WWII, the US (GHQ) was afraid that Japan would have a military again. So GHQ banned Japan from having an army, war, and engagement in the Constitution. This is why it is called the "Japan Self-Defense Force" instead of the "Japanese Military".
we all know that. The problem is that they are rearming and spending a lot more on their military than they should be, breaking the constitution by claiming 'self defence'. China and Korea specifically suffered most of it and SE Asia (specifically the Phillipines, Indonesia and Vietnam) aren't exactly happy about this. The Japanese committed the worst atrocities during WW2 and never properly apologised for it, even censoring it in the media and in education, outright denial of the comfort women in Korea and the Rape of Nanking in China where 300000 died. Thats a big problem, the question of: "were they really sorry? are they allowed to do that?" Mind you, they are the 13th strongest military in the world, so much for "Self Defence" and recently Japan was allowed to go on overseas mission and deployments not too long ago. Welp thats my take on the situation.
According to them, Japan was just visiting friends in neighboring countries. and outa nowhere the US just decided to nuke em... Yes its mind-blowing just how only a tiny fraction of Japanese know about what to place. I dont think they felt sorry. Now i believe Germany did, they were quick to denounce the formal government.
@@fukkitful The two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were just nuclear tests. For the United States at that time, it was necessary to see how much damage nuclear weapons could do to humans. Therefore, it is said that they did not use conventional bombs, but only atomic bombs to check the performance of the bombs.
@@miks_w8945 As for the apology, please refer to the official statement of Japanese government officials. (If I post the URL, my comment will be deleted.) As you said, some criticize the Japan Self-Defense Force for violating the Constitution. However, it goes without saying that every nation has the right and duty to protect its citizens. Japan is threatened by its neighbors, China, Russia, and North Korea, and their armies and weapons are very powerful. In such an environment, Japan is forced to have a strong military as a means of defense. Nevertheless, it still does not have the power to rival that of China or Russia, and in the event of war, it is inevitable that many Japanese will die.
@@きつねかわいい i have seen the official statement it still isnt a proper apology... its not explicit enough and theyve avoided mentioning certain things and btw dont know if you know but the constitution explicitly states that Japan must not have an army and that the US will be responsible for Japan's defense. It also doesn't explain why Japan censors so many things regarding WW2 especially about comfort women in china korea and the phillipines and certain massacres, completely leaving it out of textbooks. If you are japanese, your schools dont teach it well like other asian and western countries.
The USA - we have a large number of troops stationed in Japan. There’s no reason for Japan to worry about having their own large standing army when the USA would go to war with anyone that attacked them.
@@fakeninja4447 The US Wars in the MidEast actually has done its purpose which were: 1. Downgrade terrorist cells or discourage them from mounting a 9/11 scale attack on US soil lest risking US wrath.(None has happened since) 2. Destroy or discourage any MidEast state from sponsoring such terror cell lest risk US wrath(The Taliban are now smart enough not to do the same shit that led them to be ousted 20 years ago) 3. Make money for the Military Industrial Complex and Defense officials.
@@fakeninja4447 The US would actually be going to war against a nation with an actual military and long term plans / stakes than trying pacify sectarian rebels like in Vietnam or the middle east with no other plan than to fight for a 100 years if thats how long it takes.
@A Perpetual Guardsman with a flashlight If you click on Sectarianism in wikipedia it says: "Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups often related to the form of government they live under." It doesn't only mean religious. You're welcome.
The fact Japan’s commercial vehicle industry is so potent speaks to their capability to switch their industry for war in a moment’s notice. That is by in large how the US pivoted during WW2. Also not to mention the US military presence and the recently formed asian alliance between India, the US, Japan, and Australia. Also, as someone mentioned the Japanese Navy is a better indicator of their current strength than their army.
Japan is probably the only country in the world that took the "peaceful, bright future we build together" joke seriously. No blame or cynicism, i actually wish it would've been true.
More like the hands are tied. The Japanese consitution formally abolishes war(until recently). Not like they were allowed otherwise anyway. Unlike Germany which is sheltered by France and UK, Japan has nobody to defend from the two nuke powers in the region.
@@satyakisil9711 the weird thing is japan are the one who make the rule about they never gonna build up military even though usa want them to still have military because they need allies in east again ussr and unlike german where allies are the one who make the rule saying german shall not have military
Japan is always late to the party. First they tried colonialism after ww1 when the Europeans decided a League of Nations would be fashionable, now they’re pacifists at the worst possible time
Japan accepted a constitution written by the Americans when they lost the war in the security treaty, the United States promised to defend Japan, therefore if a country attacks Japan the American army must defend Japan.
“The simplest measure of military readiness is expenditure. It stands to reason that the more a nation spends the more prepared it is likely to be.” I’d like to see a comparison of “expenditures vs. effective expenditures.” For example, the US has received huge criticism for spending huge on high profile R&D only to cancel (littoral combat ship, Zumwalt, etc)
I don't know the micro details, but I think Saudia Arabia is an example of an ineffective expenditure. They have one of the world largest military budgets, but according to my understanding their army isn't as strong in comparison.
@@weaselwolf8425 hello i think f35s going to town in syrian air space by the IAF israel air force. They use them night and day. So for none of them have ever been shot down by russian installed Anti air systems installed in syria. ( not arguing just saying ).cheers! =)
But why would Japan need to spend on military when they have American bases? They also are not passive as you suggest, they get around restrictions by claiming self defense. Is it passive when you have a bodyguard. They have a better navy than China, brown Vs blue water. The natural disasters have meant that Japan's energy sector is adapted for all sources, LNG, oil, nuclear etc.
American lives aren’t just numbers. if by chance another ww2-ish conflict happen and 50,000 Japanese but 1 million Americans died for Japan, will that be reasonable to the American perspective? and maybe to Japanese? (I‘m aware there’s an agreement that US would protect Japan btw) surely theres a bit of gratefulness with shame when you’re watching from afar seeing allied country’s people dying for your country because your country wont have its own military
@@f.b.lagent1113 it would about at reasonable as the last year and a half killing nearly a million Americans for the sake of economic stability. That is to say not at all.
The USA can't protect the whole world, more and more leaders are beginning to understand that. many doubt Washington's commitment to its allies in the first place so ensuring your entire country's sovereign security on whether a foreign power will support you isn't the best idea.
@TacticalMoonstone you are putting the weebs on a scale more than necessary The weebs didnt sell their soul to japan nor will they be useful they got own nations obligation to fulfill
George Lucas was right to give the Trade Federation Japanese accents. They’re gonna be forced to make a droid army to defend themselves. Or mechas piloted by teenagers. Whichever comes first.
@@meganoobbg3387 Kinda. Your lives are not as critical as American lives to the US, but that doesn't mean Americans won't die for it. Also, the best part is that it prevents any aggressive nation from actually considering it. Which is the overall point. Russia would have never attacked Ukraine if it actually had a defensive treaty with the US; which is why Central/Eastern Europe keeps requesting more US troops to begin with. It works quite well. Russia and China are essentially stuck for options lest they invite devastation in the form of war with the US.
@@meganoobbg3387 You obviously haven't seen the death toll the Taliban took. Guerilla warfare is kinda hard when you're trying not to kill random civilians too, ya know? But in open warfare between countries, the US just destroys its opponents entirely. So yes, like the Taliban were devastated until they went underground. Unless the US plans to occupy China, it stands literally no chance. But you'd know that, if you ever read.
@@stephenjenkins7971 id argue that claim on the us just destroying any other opponent entirely, the last real nation the us fought was Germany decades ago, a war with china will be like no other. I think its extremely foolish to think the us will just destroy china or Russia in an open conflict, never underestimate your enemies I'm sure France and Britain thought Germany wouldn't almost conquer the known world in just 5 years.
Japan military budget isn't large, but you have to ask what they spend their money on. And Japan has the second best blue water Navy. Blue water Navy can operate around the world versus just staying close to home. Japan would never attack China head on, but they can sail to the Middle East where the majority of east Asian oil comes from and block it. ** Btw, Nebula needs to available in Roku. Love watching this on TV
Japan has the second best blue water navy? I doubt that claim. France has a proper aircraft carrier that is nuclear powered and can operate conventional jets from the platform while Japan has only operated helicopters from their "carriers" and has only recently landed USMC operated SVTOL F-35B (the Japanese can't fly the plane yet). France also has a substantial nuclear powered submarine fleet while Japan has only conventionally powered subs. France has naval bases all over the world left over from their colonial days like Reunion, French Polynesia etc with 2 big logistics support ship that gives them blue water capability. UK meanwhile has 7 big replenishment ships in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Japan has neither the extensive naval base installations nor the massive replenishment fleet. If the Japanese want to operate their navy far from home for any extended period, they're gonna have to depend on US logistics chain which isn't really "second best blue water navy". I'd argue India, Italy and China all have much more power projection capabilities than Japan. And Japanese ships sailing to the Middle East to block off oil supplies? Yeah.... That's not happening. No. Just no. First off, if you want to stop oil shipments to China, you can stop them much more easily at the Straits of Malacca or Sunda which are infinitely easier locations to have sustained operations. Secondly, that's not Japan's role in any potential conflict with China, Japan's role is to serve as a military base and rallying point for a massive coalition amphibious force for invading China and their navy is gonna sit near home to protect their waters. Thirdly, other countries like US and Australia are much more strategically oriented towards blocking off trade, in potential conflicts, they'll be allies, so leave the trade interdiction to those who are more suited for it. Fourthly, part of the reason why USA and Australia are better situated is because their ships aren't at as big of a risk when sailing to chokepoints, Australian ships sailing from Perth or Darwin go into more and more Chinese warship infested waters as they approach crucial combat zones, Japanese ships are already in Chinese warship infested zones when they leave port and they'll constantly be at much more risk of attack than Australian or US vessels simply due to geography. It is way too inefficient to sail from Yokosuka (near Tokyo) at least around Guam to avoid missile threats, through Indonesia and sustain that long, vulnerable supply chain.
Yeah the Japanese navy is busy blocking thousands of Chinese merchant vessels while mainland Japan is getting bombarded by the Chinese Air force and their contested islands are being invaded by the Chinese navy This sure makes a lot of sense Japanese navy is very good no doubt but their purpose is not to go to the middle East to choke China's economy and fuel supply, it is to defend the mainland just like the British navy. Also considering Japanese navy has seen no actual combat as polymatter stated since WW2, their modern war capability may be much lower than expected
@احمد ضياء no. He is probably talking about wreaking oil supplies in the indian ocean, coming from middle east towards china. And india would allow this even.
Japanese navy was tailored by US interests, and it is mostly anti-submarine force . Plus, they would serve to absorb Chinese and/or Russian missile strikes.
Japan is a nation born out of their almost miraculous ability to adapt and overcome. I believe they will be fine. They are a Great Power in their own right. Economically, technologically, culturally, Japan ranks near the very top in terms of their influence. The Japanese auto industry alone proves Japan is plenty capable. Their engineers have done incredible things. Surely with some help from its powerful allies it can quickly catch up.
Japan is currently a nation suffering from a lack of acceptance of the many realities facing them today. The population issue, the suicide rate, and the oppressive groupthink mentalities are examples of internal problems that really add a lot of question marks to Japan's future. Externally, they are within first strike distance of an ever more belligerent Communist China and it's puppet North Korea. Added to that, the geopolitics of East Asia and the Western Pacific are in flux. It really is only a matter of time before a conflict begins. China specifically cannot continue on its current course and not cause war, and there is little reason anymore to believe they do not want war. Japan sits in the middle of all of this and cannot seriously expect the US to be able to protect them, no matter how much the US may want to, from significant enough damage to totally derail Japan for the foreseeable future. Effectively, Japan has its head in the sand. The few in Japanese politics who voice these things are seen as warmongers. And in some cases they may be, which is why anyone should have mixed feelings about a fully militarized Japan. But I really don't see an alternative for them if they actually value their existence over the coming several decades. The time of nuclear deterrence is coming to an end soon. It cannot prevent major global war forever, and Japan sits near the epicenter of the what is likely the first major global conflict since WWII. The time for catching up is almost gone.
So we're just gonna ignore the fact that Japan would probably still be in the warring states era today if it hadn't been for the Dutch, the Polish, and America?
@@wakkaseta8351 they like to conveniently forget the western technological advancement brought upon japan only possible due to America forcing them to open up lol
8:47 - "The country hasn’t been able to find enough soldiers since 2014." Oh, that was the reason why Japanese Self-Defense Forces do an official collaboration with "Gate" the anime in 2015. Maybe they should make some kind Film Liaison Unit like Pentagon of the US military do and pay a bunch TVs and films to promote them.
The US military already does this. Any movie that features the US military in a good light, you can bet they gave them a bunch of tanks and equipment to ease the budget.
This makes me think of the movie Patlabor 2, a Japanese animated political thriller. The basic spiel is whether or not Japan can really disassociate itself from war. It argues that Japan enjoys peace because it is a key member of the world hegemony, and the world hegemony enjoys ‘peace’ at others expense. I won’t say much else but I think it fits very much in parallel with the concerns addressed in this video.
@Jeff Enfield-Hideyoshi *"Where is Nigeria, China, Mexico etc in thet little ''western supremacist'' circle."* ------------------------------------------ Too busy dealing with corruption, warlords, cartels, and implementing social credit systems.
@@aoeu256 China is the real life equivalent of Eve online. Chaotic, dangerous, lawless. The ones who made the laws are the top dogs around because they are powerful enough to keep the others in check. Wow
When he referenced that time where North Korea fired a missile over an island (Okinawa) in 2017 I was there. Was stationed in Okinawa and the next day was told about the missile launch.
@@WannaComment2 Unfortunately, they’re not a monolith. It’s not united. You have your Anime weebs and then there’s the Tokusatsu weebs. And anime weebs hate Tokusatsu weebs. However, Tokusatsu weeb have existed for over 70 years compared to Anime weebs which barely emerged in the 1990s.
That's not happening any time soon. The only hope the "allies" have is flooding their countries with refugees to increase the birth rates, in effect replacing their native population. And then just hope those people will want to join the military when shit hits the fan.
@@yoloswag6242 Like Germany importing Turks. Then these Turks turns against Germany because their allegiance goes to the Ottoman empire-in-the-making... More like "You can't invade us if we willingly become your colony instead..." big brain move.
@@Jaytip91 u act like japan was the only country that committed war crimes and japan is actually a pacifist and a better country than its neighboring countries that are disturbing peace in that area. Yea japan might have been aggressive 70 years ago but that was the age of colonization okay? Might stop blaming japan all the time and look at what’s happening now
@@Jaytip91 lmao. To answer your question, probably many. And when was that? Which was country is worse right now? Um China. What is china doing in those concentration camps? What is china doing to neighboring countries? Um yea that’s what I thought. What is japan doing that’s harming the peace right now? Yea
@@Jaytip91 u seriously asking that? How pro China can you be. Ur comments make sense now smh. Just look at what they are doing to Taiwan, japan, Philippines, India etc. Going into other countries’ EEZ for example. Yea the answer is clear. China makes more harm than good. U agree with this statement right?
The graphs on 0:30 - 0:45 seem to be incorrect/confusing. The title says “Active troops”, but the label for Japan says 125M (the entire population of Japan). The bar for Japan also stops around 25-35M. It seems like you meant to say that Japan has 25M troops in that label. The second graph is also confusing without a key. I know you’re kind of explaining it with audio, but its not clear from just the visual.
I imagine an army of femboys with cat ears welding samurai swords chanting in Japanese. The weeb army would be awesome & possibly terrifying depending on the person.
@@CatholicWeeb Unfortunately, it’s not monolith. You have your Anime weebs and then there’s the Tokusatsu weebs. And anime weebs hate Tokusatsu weebs for being political.
Japans army seems to have the same as my nation. We once had somewhat forced conscription but when it was stoped the army spending and strength decreased. Around 3 years ago it was reinstated and the spending was increased. The country has been getting Russian submarines in their water for years so it makes sense to try and grow the defense.
That was due to lack of competition, the only navies at the time operating carriers were Britain, obviously Japan, the USA and France. France was broke after ww1 and had a couple aircraft carriers which were pretty crap, some cruisers were bigger than them and they could only carry around 30 planes, so yeah the IJN would naturally be better as they had an emphasis on their navy and France really didn't in comparison. British carriers were generally superior to Japanese ones, despite having an armoured flight deck, which made them almost invulnerable to air attacks at the cost of space for planes, they still usually could carry a similar amount or sometimes more planes than their Japanese counterparts and the carriers generally had similar operational ranges. Especially towards the end of the war the royal navy carriers were easily superior to IJN carriers. American Carriers were easily superior to Japanese carriers having the longest operational ranges of any carriers and being able to hold almost twice the number of planes that Japanese carriers could in some instances, American carriers also usually operated more advanced planes than the IJN carriers did and American carriers were just technologically superior. So all in all Japanese carriers got third place out of 4 not exactly that impressive when you put it into that retrospective
I'm just going to sum up what I think PolyMatter is going to say in part 2 as to the reason why Japan doesn't militarize more. The reason is that the constitution forbids it from ever going to war again, and it can only defend itself. The second is that they have a false sense of safety because the United States guarantees them protection from foreign threats (Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty). Why spend money to build and train a powerful military when the US, the most powerful military power in the world, has 50.000+ US troops and countless ships and planes spread over 20+ bases in Japan ready to protect you? Exactly. There's no sense of urgency. I've been living in Japan for 8 years now, and everyone adamantly believes that the US will protect them no matter what. It was only few years back when Japan decided to reinterpret the constitution to be able to defend an ally, but I'll stop here. I'm sure PolyMatter will go into great detail about it all in part 2.
You also have a weird situation where a fairly large part of the populace wants nothing more than a return to the Good Ol' Days, and would like to essentially recreate the IJN/IJA and everything that goes with that, and another also fairly large part thinks the the JSDF is overly aggressive and provocative as they are now, and should be disbanded (and while all nations have a few people at either extreme, in few other cases does either view attract more than a very small amount of support). Whatever any Japanese government does, a LOT of people will be upset by it
@@banana9056 Some assumptions have to be challenged so that we don't fall into pits of our own making. China couldn't operate ships far in the past. Due to the filtered information and the obfuscation, we don't fully know the capabilities now.
There are several mistakes in this video. "Its lack of infrastructure meant it could only promise one submarine a year" Then why does Japan have the 4th largest submarine fleet in the world after US, Russia, China, and more than France and/or UK combined(NK/Iran bunch of midget subs don't count)? Also that deal fell off because Japan didn't want to build it in Australia implying that it indeed has a competent infrastructure at home. They also have the third largest destroyer fleet in the world after US and China. "Having never fired a bullet in combat for 70 straight years" They did fired at a North Korean spy boat which sank them and killed all the North Koreans on board. As for the defense companies, you might also want to do some more digging because for example in 2020 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was ranked 21th largest defense company in the world terms of revenue/profit right after Huntington Ingalls of US which builds and services a lot of US Navy ships. They were ahead of big names like Rolls Royce, Safran, Honeywell, Rhinemetal. Also MHI's revenue from defense industry is around 20%. Yes they mostly rely on government contract and sometimes build, design and supply parts to big name Western companies. Either way, untested or not one trick they got up its sleeve is their weapon's dispatch and sortie rate. The Japanese take an excellent care of them Indeed, Japanese have one of if not the highest weapon dispatch rate in the world consistently in the 90%s. They scrambled their fighter jet over a thousand times last year to counter China and Russian incursion (both of which have more planes of course) sometimes 5 times a day. That is more than all of NATO scrambling combined.
@@dragonstormdipro1013 no actually Japan has 25 in service, one is undegoing major repair and the oldest two is currently refit. South Korean number include midget submarines that will be retired soon. India in the near future will have 20, so not quite there yet.
"They did fired at a North Korean spy boat which sank them and killed all the North Koreans on board." No, the JSDF has not faced combat. It was the Japan Coast Guard which saw engagement against the North Korean special operations ship. Also, Japan's dispatch rate is not as high as it used to be, and it's only getting worse. Their F-15s are having to react to constant scrambles, taking precious hours off their allowed flight times. It will get even worse because China has recently started flying UAVs into Japanese ADIZ, which China owns a huge fleet of, and costs less to fly. Japan on the other hand, has to intercept them with manned fighters that are being worn down every day. There is no easy way to solve this issue at the moment.
As a Japanese, I agree with this video. Japan was fifth in the global firepower rankings in 2021, but it is clearly overrated. I don't think the JSDF is stronger than the Turkish and Israeli forces. Japanese media also refers to our defense system, which is often unnecessarily expensive and flawed.East Asian neighbors are much more powerful.
I am an indian and if you ask for my input, the japanese navy is still more strong than other south east asian countries navy that face a credible challenge from china, South korea for example. But S-korean land army is no joke, they are better trained and have better preparedness as they have been training for land based invasion for a long time. But given the japanese economy and their scientific capabilities, if the govt of japan allows it, japan can mount a strong army within i say 3 to 4 years or so.
They don't consider only military power, impact on world too, Japanese industries are core of worlds tech !! They have put indian air force above china, But I don't think that rankings too fair, china have 5th gen fighter whatever will be quality, but they will improve with time, Indian 5th gen fighter is under development, trails will start from next year !!! China have hypersonic missile,. But I don't india lag hypersonic missile like Us ,, Cause already indian Astra mark 1 can nearly goes upto 4.8 mach !! Indian defence industry is developing 20no Astra mark 3 missiles for trails this year, and they are hypersonic which will surpass world class mateor missile both in range and speed.. Bramhos 2 hypersonic missioe trials are delayed due to ukraine-russia war !!
The only thing this video misses slightly is that most defense manufacturers actually make the majority of their profits through foreign arms sales due to the way cost plus manufacturing works. So basically Japan’s defense industrial base was at even more of a pronounced disadvantage vis a vis foreign competitors since it couldn’t make external sales in the first place.
The United States would never let anyone touch Japan after the end of the Second World War. They're probably one of the only successful examples of nation building that we have. Hell, I'd go there and volunteer to fight for them myself. They gave us anime for Gods sake
they certainly won't let someone touch it while they have so many bases there, bases with tactical nuclear weapons may i add. It's absurd this guy thinks Japan needs conscription to get more troops, as if any country that wouldn't be deterred by nukes would be deterred by some teens with guns.
@@stephenjenkins7971 West Germany sure. I don't know enough of the rebuild post WW2 with Belgium and elsewhere. South Korea wasn't a success in my view. We forced ourselves on them. A bit differenr.
@@chriscarlone527 First of all, the US forced itself on Germany more than South Korea; South Korea requested US aid, and the US bombed Germany down since it was at war with it. What matters isn't how the US got there, its whether the US "nation-builded", which it did in all the cases I mentioned.
@@fakeninja4447 US is still in the Middle East; and staying in a specific area indefinitely for no gain is stupid. US defense agreements are essentially the perfect shield; which is why no one violates them.
First of all, one thing threw me off.. Russia an "East Asian" country? Seriously? If we follow geography, then Russia's Asian part falls in the north of the continent. This is the first time, I have seen, somebody include Russia in East Asia. Its always considered a part of Europe, even though, it is trans-continental, for obvious reasons.
It’s a European country with territory and interest in other places out side of Europe. Much like the say British empire. It was a European country that owned land all over the world but no ones going to call it a African or Indian country
@@d9zirable IKR. But that still doesn’t change the fact that Evangelion Units are huge deterrent. Unfortunately, it doesn’t bode well with the mainstream anime weebs since they prefer the Colossal Titan, Armored Titan, Hidden Leaf Shinobi, Spiritual Pressure, and Stand-Users over Evangelion Units and 7th Sense Cosmos.
I am not sure if Japanese budget works the same, but generally disaster related expenses does not form part of departmental budget, often times a pool of funds is set aside at federal level. Would be nice to get some clarification on that point.
@@chungtaktaing8277 I understand the meme but do understand that Italian soldiers fought very well according to both German and allied commanders Italy decided to join a war far too early because some bald headed idiot thought it was time to restore the Roman empire in spite of most of most of his advisors warning him against it or telling him to at least wait for a few years before joining the war
Well long story short, Japan has the US acting as their military anyways, and any action of building up a military would risk countries like China, both Koreas, US, and many other nations to either have a justification for war or a justification to break ties. Especially in Asia, many countries like China, NK, SK, Taiwan, Philippines, etc still bear the scars from WW2 and Japanese imperialism. Despite being allies, South Korea and Japan still have a very rocky relationship.
Exactly, America guarantees it will always defend Japan. In return, they aren't allowed to have a standing army, just a sorta national guard. And cant start a war, only defend itself.
Hearing about the "defensive helicopter destroyers" and the scuffed ass Mitsubishi tanks just makes me think Japans that friend that theorycraft's his loadout for 2 hours and ends up running an SMG kited out for long range and an LMG.
@x XGeneric420X x China is Japan's, so its clear they wont attack them considering their economy is already highly dependant on China. If China becomes hostile, they would simply impose an embargo and that would harm Japan plenty.
@@overdose8329 too many chinese survival depends on japanese anime already, so it cannot be done in practice. lol But you shouldn't be surprized at the anti-japanese santiment - both Koreas and both Chinas agree they hate Japan for their ww2 shenanigans. Indochina and the Phillipines included.
Japanese government has a program inviting foreign born japanese descendants to come back to the motherland. My friend is the grandson of one of the Japanese soldiers who decided to stay back in Indonesia to help fight returning Dutch soldiers after WW2 ended (I believe 5,000 of them did so). They always get invitations to "return" to Japan despite being Indonesian citizens. If they decide to return, housing is provided and monthly allowance is guaranteed until they find a job, and the whole immediate family is encouraged to come as well. His dad did so alone but he was in Japan only to work for a few years. My friend is an AVP in a tech startup here, so he's still thinking about it.
Number of ground forces doesn't really mean much. A lot of them are held in reserves and having huge active numbers is generally a waste of funds which could be better spent acquiring new hardware. Plus during a war, conscription can easily bolster those numbers very quickly and historically nations could usually field over 10% of their population which if any major country does this today they are likely to easily to surpass the current largest active militaries by multiple folds.
@@CountingStars333 Japan doesn't border china, Japan doesn't need a large number of infantry, they need a large navy and airforce which they do have, the only outlier to this was aircraft carriers but now they have one, so I really don't see any major problems with Japans armed forces especially when they are being backed by the USA
_"If you ever wondered why US military spending is so high it's because the US has to jump in for allies who themselves don't meet their own commitments"_
@@blakejohnson3864 if the allied nations met their own commitments there would be no need for the US to invest so heavily in their own military Industrial complex But the allied nations would rather NOT spend their money on defense they'd rather spend it on social welfare programs and outsource the job national defense to the Americans
@@rejvaik00 Well, they love being the world police, so we sure as hell are going to exploit that fact. France and the UK have nukes too, so it's not like they need a big military anyway, just destroy the Earth in case of an invasion. If your country is losing the war, there is no reason why you should let someone win.
True, However, at the same time the US has also sabotaged effective military devolopment in its allies. It has diplomatically sabotaged several attempt to come to an effective european fighting force. (Whether such an initiative would have succeeded is a different question, but USA through NATO has effectively discouraged such initiatives). USA wants more expenditure in Europe, and i (a european) do agree that we are riding coattails. But the USA seems to be more interested in european armies integrating into a US command structure. More like Europeon armies. I am not familiar how this would apply in other theatres, but this is what i have observed on in europe: Reluctunce of European nations to fork out the money. Reluctance from the USA to let it develop to an independent and effective fighting force. I guess there is a reason why the USA accepts Europeans still dragging their feet on the expenditure front, and not pushing as hard as it should, if that were its only ambition.
Why are we worried about a country being unprepared for war and not more worried about countries whose entire business model is perpetuating war? You know, the senseless sacrificing of working class or poor working class bodies.
Curious to know where you got China's defense expenditure numbers at 1:35. Most experts agree China's published defense expenditure numbers are an underestimate that leave out certain expenses. For example, PLA volunteers are in some cases given a one-time lump sum of around 9,000 RMB for joining up-- this usually isn't included in the PLA budget..
"Why Japan isn't ready for war". This is stupid. Japan doesn't need to be ready for a war. If they are attacked, the USA has to defend them. Plus, they're an island (so navy), and can build up easily.
Japans navy is basically one of the blue water navies together with USN When you are too pacifist but your neighbor was aggressive and threatened you with nukes The cliff hanger bro😭
Their submarines are some of the best in the world and as a former submariner in the Navy I was damn glad they're on our side. There's a lot of inaccurate assumptions in this video because Japan's self defense forces keep a very low profile. But rest assured they're a sleeping giant that China doesn't want to awaken. As it is now China can't detect their subs with any degree of accuracy and in a war they would only know after shots were fired at them. I wish I could go into detail but I can't......just know that China would struggle to do anything on the water in a true war.
@@southjerseysound7340 Problem is that the CCP has a geopositional advantage as the only route in is through the water. But they also know that's they're not a blue water navy, and if we stop the CCP now, they'll never have one.
I really like your multi-part documentaries. As Japan's population shrinks, there should be a surplus of capital to go around. Assuming they can implement more free-market ideas, I think Japan will have a Technologic boom in the future which could be a force multiplier. Also as an Island, their Navy is everything. Navies are nothing but Equipment and Technology. You don't need manpower for a navy, unlike an army, as an army does not need equipment, unlike a navy. Japan's heritage and Navy will be their greatest strength.
I don't know why, but for the first few seconds of seeing PolyMatter's maps pop up on the screen I always see them in the inverse. My brain tells me that the shading he uses for the water should be for the land and vice versa.
Why would they need such population when a literal anime girl with cat ears can take out an entire military division using magic explosion? Not mentioning they have giant robots and plasma laser cannon. This video is misleading, Japan is more than ready for war.
I'm glad there are still taiwanese who want to reclaim the mainland and expel communist terrorists, instead of those cringe greenies who want nothing to do with china and deny their chinese heritage.
I’d argue that laws can indeed help the falling population. Specifically laws which strictly enforce working hours and work conditions that allow young people to have the energy to raise a family without expecting the woman to quit her career.
We can see on stat it doesn't help, countries with the lowest working hours and best welfare are still deeply in decline. Actually Japan now has working hours below developed countries average and it doesn't help.
@@hochmeisterjer That's because Japanese society and culture is, to a lot of people, too complex and intricate to understand, resulting in them being singled out for extremely minor issues (karoshi and suicide being an example, despite having a lower suicide rate than the US and South Korea). Having to dumb down your ancient cultural practices, which will affect society, just so you can import a crap ton of low-skilled, low-educated individuals from third world countries is *not* fair. If I was Japan, I'd rather watch the population slowly die out than watch it become a shell of its former self. However, the population decline will solve itself eventually, with some estimating it to be around 2050 or, in the worst case scenario, 90-100~ million people remaining, so there's no need to take drastic measure. Multiculturalism isn't for every country or culture and should not be lauded as the be all, end all because it's worked a handful of times.
@@TheDarkArcherz I agree, I'm just saying the issue with Japan's aging population isn't unique to the country. It is the same with every developed nation. Whats unique about Japan is its decision not to remedy it. They have the full power to solve the issue if they wished, but they have other priorities.
Honestly as a Japanese in Tokyo people aren't interested in international affairs. Also I think there is a misconception between foreigner and Japanese regarding the 'military'. Japan's military is a self defense force and it is almost a pride that Japan commits in peace at least for me. Any time Japan tries to inforce the SDF (self defense force) our neighbors don't really like it. What is a valid argument as Japan has that past. This anti Japanese sentimental is especially true between Japan and south Korea. Excluding the people of both countries, both governments don't really like to corporate. As for the most part South Korea tries to bring back issues from the the preWWII peiod and demands an apology. This is why for the most part Japan and South Korean translations has been an all time low. Which is very worrisome as being both democratic liberal countries there is a need to team up between these countries in order to fight and count to balance the order in East Asia. Also regarding China Japanese reputation also has been quite low for a very long time. However, since there is literally 10 times off the population of Japan in China I feel like there's this mindset that there's no real point in finding as they have 10 times population. In that sense we kind of over the accept defeat to some extent. And I feel like the government also has this to some extent as China is also a very important trading partner of Japan the government probably does not want to risk that much. Which in turn problems regarding senkaku also don't have a clear answer as Japanese government does not want to risk that much. However the new prime minister did said that he wants to increase military spending. I believe the Japanese military spending has been below 1% of the GDP but he's planning to increase it by 3% of the GDP I might be wrong. So I think there was this sense of anti-chinese policy in both the public and the government but to be honest I personally do not want war. Will you get Japanese already experience how badly it can go when you pursue an aggressive foreign policy. And millions of people die and I think we learned our lesson so hopefully this whole tension could result peacefully. But also it is kind of likely that there will be some kind of clash in the near future.
Maybe Japan should officially acknowledge they were the Germans of Asian in WW2 and make remands like the Germans did. South Korea and Japanese hatred remains but it is 100% japans fault.
@@solarmaru49do you remember the term white man's burden? Japan and many Asians faced a lot of discrimination in the past. even in North America, Native children were sexually abused by priests and nuns. there's tons of undiscovered graveyards with bones and skeletons lying around. Native Americans were some of the tallest people in the world. those generations no longer exist anymore. did the same thing happen to Korean children when Japan supposedly tried to change their education system? I disagree.
Great introduction to the domestic issues that constrain the JSDF. I was wondering if and when you’d bring up Article 9 and the US Alliance but I’m assuming that’s part two and I can’t wait to see you analyze it!
I dont really think the population decline in Japan is much of a big deal in terms of defending its self. You have South Korea and Taiwan, who both have far lower birth rates compared to Japan that are doing well. Yes I understand that Korea has conscription(majority goes to the army as infantry), but Japan’s main defensive strategy is at the sea and air. The JSDF doesnt need foot soldiers that will only serve for couple of years. It needs volunteers thats willing to commit a life time in the military in specific fields that requires years of training and Japan isnt having much problem with that.
Memories of the Imperial Empire of Japan, are not quite past living memory of its victims, in the Pacific region. Nor yet the Japanese, who's second world war memory's, are equally filled with horror and loss. Staying out of conflict and vast sums on military, has served Japan, and eased fears of its neighbours.
Japan had a massive "peace dividend" after 1945 (able to focus more on "bread" instead of "guns"). If it didn't have US protection, it might be poorer in bread and maybe even with inferior weaponry anyway like the Soviets and others.
Reminds me of the movie Patlabor 2. The role of the JSDF is at much as question in that movie as it is here. The contrast being the backdrop of film set in the late 90s and the early 2000s. The military of Japan, nay the self defense force is an odd topic especially to those like me who observe it from outside. It is a self contradictory force. Meant to protect the peace via violent means, yet not given the teeth or political effort to do so. The Japanese government and by extension the self defense force has done more campaigns to improve its public image than to train and ready itself for war or even the idea of fighting anything more than lax morals and waning readiness levels. Owing to the personal experiences of those who are stationed there alongside the JSDF which they have relayed onto me. Perhaps Japan's so called pacifism is not expressed by a demographic issue, lack of defence spending or even external threats. But a delusion of peace that has lulled it into this state. A state of malaise of which the SDF and the political establishment of Japan seek to preserve in the belief that an unjust peace is better than a just war. Could be just me talking BS though, go watch patlabor 2 it's worth it.
some reference if anyone wanna watch : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ybLKmO5Kq5A.html the main reference for OP: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JnOfNQ9VWo0.html
