On 17 December 2018, the National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS) launched the Japan Military Power Report (2018) in Haikou.

At the book launch ceremony, NISCSS President Wu Shicun made a brief introduction on the background and purpose of publication, content of the report and its significance. He argued that in recent years, Japan has been visibly adjusting its defense policy, based on the postwar Japanese Constitution as well as US-Japan alliance, and in response to the evolution of geopolitics, especially the changing dynamics of China-US competition in the Asia-Pacific region. The current Japanese administration seeks to free Japan from the perceived shackles of the postwar regime on its military buildup, the scope of permissible actions as collective self-defense, and overseas troop deployment, in order to expand Japan’s influence both militarily and politically. Thus far, the impact of Japan’s “militarization” and policy adjustments on the security environment of China, East Asia, and even the global security structure has gradually stood out. Against such background and drawing on the successful experience of publishing the Report on the Military Presence of the United States of America in the Asia-Pacific Region (2016), a NISCSS research team spent the past two years compiling this report on Japan’s military power. The Report intends to provide an international readership a systematic and comprehensive account on the formation and evolution of Japan’s defense policy since the Second World War, its military buildup and development, the role of the US-Japan security alliance in its security mechanism, as well as the progress of China-Japan defense cooperation and challenges to it.

The report is in both Chinese and English language, published by the Current Affairs Press. Both editions are about 50000-word in length. The report is consisted of five parts, including the evolution of Japan’s defense policy, military forces and their deployment, the Japan-US alliance and bilateral security cooperation, military and para-military activities, and defense relations between China and Japan. It is also the first specialized professional report issued by a Chinese Government-backed think tank, making a comprehensive and systematic study on Japan’s military power.