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The article analyzes new moments in Japan's national security policy introduced by the documents which have been adopted by the Japanese cabinet in December 2022 — National Security Strategy, National Defense Program Guidelines and Medium Term Defense Program. The main attention is paid to the depiction of the external security environment, and above all to the assessment of China and Russia as the countries of greatest concern from the point of view of security policy. Noting that the documents do not use the term "threat" in China's assessment, the author concludes that Japan takes a more cautious position than the United States, trying not to be drawn into a confrontation between superpowers. As for Russia, the greatest alarmism is expressed not in relation to its policy as such, but in relation to its potential blocking with China on an anti—Japanese basis — the main "nightmare" for Tokyo.
The article considers the issue of the "counter-offensive" missile potential provided for by the new strategy, which would allow Japan to strike at the enemy from a remote distance in the event of a direct threat to its security. The acquisition of such a potential has become particularly relevant for Japan in connection with the development of missile technologies of neighboring "hostile" countries — the DPRK and the PRC, as well as the general progress of missile weapons in the world, including the hypersonic ones. As part of the new approach, it is planned to create an integrated air and missile defense system that combines the capabilities of intercepting enemy missiles and counterattacking on strategic and military enemy targets.

An important change in the security policy will also be the acute increase in defense spending declared by the documents under review. The biggest problem lies in the unresolved issue of the financial sources of the defense budget, which must ensure the implementation of the adopted strategy.

AbstractThe current efforts of Moscow and Tokyo to unblock the territorial impasse are complicated by some barriers of a socio-psychological character, including mutual mistrust and contradictory images of past events. Public opinion surveys reveal predominant vectors in Russo-Japanese relations, which the authors believe strongly correlate with the evolution of the contradictory images. Apparently, these images surprisingly exhibit interrelated 'mirror' dynamics connected with the independent variable – events happening in bilateral relations. Apparently, these images surprisingly exhibit interrelated 'mirror' dynamics connected with the independent variable – events happening in bilateral relations. The authors also investigate how public opinion has a real impact on politics and relations between states. In the authors' opinion, Russia and Japan definitely do not have major unresolved problems in their bilateral relations, with the exception of the territorial problem. However, why is the public so suspicious of Russia? Can the territorial dispute be the only reason? It is far from that. The analyzed arguments give grounds to believe that it is very difficult for Japan and Russia to find a mutually acceptable solution, as their relations are not free from suspicion and mutual mistrust which are deeply rooted in the history of their relations. It will be much easier to overcome the mistrust and, accordingly, to reach agreement on the territorial issue when they manage to calmly analyze the historical grudges, understand their nature and origin, and realize that this is history, which has no contemporary value.

While the threats that turned Europe into the most explosive part of the world in the last century appear to be quite relevant for Asia, the European-style security institutions do not seem to work for Asia. The key reasons are the historically embedded roots of the insecurity, more acute territorial divisions, specific (non-Western) understanding of security, and ethnically-driven separatist and irredentist movements. Also, as deglobalization increases and the international system becomes less and less manageable, East Asian countries tend to push harder for pursuing an autonomous security policy.