AJISS-Commentary
The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies
NPIRIPS

Nakasone Yasuhiro

The Japan Institute of

Research Institute for

Peace InstituteInternational Affairs

Peace and Security(Secretariat)

Editorial Advisory Board:

No. 287

Akio Watanabe (Chair)
Ichiro Fujisaki
Masashi Nishihara
Kenichiro Sasae

5 April 2021

Editorial Committee:
Tsutomu Kikuchi
Fumiaki Kubo
Tsuyoshi Sunohara
Shujiro Urata andTomiko Ichikawa
Editor & Online Publisher:
Kenichiro Sasae
President, JIIAJMSDF ACTIVITIES IN THE
INDO-PACIFIC REGION
Tokuhiro Ikeda
・ The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF)
has served as a means by which Japan can fulfill its
responsibilities in the international community. For
example, it sent minesweepers to the Persian Gulf
after the Gulf War in 1991, dispatched destroyers,etc., to the Indian Ocean after the terrorist attacks in
the United States in 2001, and dispatched naval
vessels and aircraft to the Gulf of Aden off Somalia
to conduct counter-piracy operations in 2009.
・ In recent years, such activities as the “IndoSoutheast Asia Deployment” have been carried out
with the clear goals of contributing to regional peaceand stability and promoting mutual understanding
and greater trust with other countries.
・ This is consistent with the Free and Open
Indo-Pacific (FOIP)’s goal “to establish aninternational order based on the rule of law throughcomprehensive
efforts
forpromotion
andconsolidation of fundamental principles, economic
prosperity with connectivity and commitment forpeace and stability.”
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and should
not be attributed to The Association of Japanese Institutes ofStrategic Studies.

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The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the end of the Cold War, Japan
Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) activities changed drastically. In 1990, when Iraq
invaded Kuwait and the Gulf War broke out, Japan offered US$13.5 billion, but theinternational community responded by saying, “Japan only spends money and neversweats.” Japan was still allergic to war, and there was strong opposition to the dispatchof the JMSDF overseas. As a last resort, the Japanese government dispatchedminesweepers to the Persian Gulf to remove abandoned mines after the Gulf War. This
was the first time since World War II that that JMSDF had been sent overseas toperform duties.
When the terrorist attacks occurred in the United States in September 2001,
the Japanese government immediately decided to dispatch JMSDF destroyers to theIndian Ocean, following the precedent established by the dispatch of minesweepers tothe Persian Gulf after the end of the Gulf War, which had prompted Japan to contributeto the stability of the post-Cold War international community and to participate in PKO
and international emergency relief activities. In 1997, the Japan-US Security
Consultative Committee approved the new Guidelines for Japan-US Defense
Cooperation and, in 1999, the Act concerning the measures for peace and safety ofJapan in situations in areas surrounding Japan, which ensures the Guidelines’effectiveness, came into force. The two countries considered specific measures to betaken jointly not only in the event of an emergency in Japan but also in the event of asituation in areas surrounding Japan, and this led to the formation of a system in which
Japan and the United States were to jointly address various post-Cold War situations.
The JMSDF dispatch was to provide support in rear areas, not in combat zones, but it
was a strong indication that Japan would participate in the fight against terrorism as amember of the international community. In 2007, incidents of piracy off the coast ofSomalia in the Gulf of Aden increased rapidly, and damage to Japanese commercial
vessels occurred. In 2009, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution toprevent piracy, and countries were requested to dispatch warships and military aircraft.
As the Gulf of Aden is an extremely important sea lane for Japan, Japan dispatched
destroyers in March 2009 to conduct counter-piracy operations. In June, P-3C patrolaircraft also started surveillance flights and, in June 2011, a base for P-3C operations
was constructed at an airport in Djibouti. This activity is still ongoing.
Since Japan’s proposal of its Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision,JMSDF activities have undergone further changes. First, several JS Izumo-class andother destroyers have been dispatched on extended deployments to the Indo-Pacifichttp://www.jiia.or.jp/en/commentary2

AJISS-Commentary
The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies

region. In 2018, JS Kaga, JS Inazuma and JS Suzutsuki were assigned to the “IndoSoutheast Asia Deployment” and carried out their activities with the clear goals ofcontributing to regional peace and stability and promoting mutual understanding andgreater trust with other countries. These activities were conducted in close coordination
with the Joint Staff, the National Security Secretariat, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc.,
and were exactly the actions needed to realize the FOIP vision. In addition, theseactions were disclosed to the media as part of the government’s strategic
communications designed to convey carefully considered messages, and it can be said
that JMSDF activities have realized the will of the nation. This deployment is now
carried out every year.
The second is information-gathering activity for ensuring the safety ofnavigation for Japan-related vessels in the Middle East. In February 2020, JS Takanami
was dispatched to the Middle East to strengthen intelligence gathering and, since then,destroyers have performed this mission in rotation. This dispatch has seen the JMSDF
cooperating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other related organizations to carryout the FOIP concept of “establish[ing] an international order based on the rule of law
through comprehensive efforts for promotion and consolidation of fundamental
principles, economic prosperity with connectivity and commitment for peace andstability.”

Tokuhiro Ikeda is Director of National Security Institute at Fujitsu System Integration
Laboratories Ltd.. He is former Commandant, Kure District /VADM, JMSDF (Ret.).

http://www.jiia.or.jp/en/commentary3