Japan builds up its ‘southern shield’ as faith in US security cover falters
Japan is pushing the legal limit of ‘defence’ as it faces its ‘most severe and complex security environment’ since 1945.
![United States President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi walk on the USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier docked at a US naval base, before speaking to members of the military in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, on October 28, 2025 [Mark Schiefelbein/AP]](https://aljazeeranews-3fuh52rgrl.edgeone.app/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/AP25301364841273-1776925513.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
Japan is pushing the legal limit of ‘defence’ as it faces its ‘most severe and complex security environment’ since 1945.
![United States President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi walk on the USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier docked at a US naval base, before speaking to members of the military in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, on October 28, 2025 [Mark Schiefelbein/AP]](https://aljazeeranews-3fuh52rgrl.edgeone.app/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/AP25301364841273-1776925513.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)









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