Japan

Japan maintains a large standing armed force largely equipped with U.S. equipment and supported by the presence of U.S. troops at bases on Honshu, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Japan's strategic outlook is predicated on the emerging threat of China's and North Korea's nuclear and missile ambitions and destabilization capabilities in the Korean Peninsula, and on the need to ensure the country's maritime shipping lanes remain open. Tokyo is slowly but increasingly moving its military away...