NIDS Perspectives

We are witnessing changes in the international structure, which will define our emerging future. Yet what lies ahead is unforeseeable. Japan’s National Security Strategy approved in December 2022 states at the outset, “We are reminded once again that globalization and interdependence alone cannot serve as a guarantor for peace and development across the globe.” It explains that the international order is at stake with “serious challenges” due to historical changes in power balances and intensifying geopolitical competitions. Such anxieties pervade many countries and regions, albeit with differences in nature and level. Increasingly, security and prosperity cannot be taken for granted. We are in an uncertain world full of crises. How are we to live in an uncertain world full of crises? It is not easy to set out a strategy and prescription for this question. The National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS) has been conducting analyses and research on the strategic environment surrounding Japan, making continuous observations of regions and policies. However, the international structure is undergoing changes that will define our emerging future. More than ever before, analyses and research on strategic trends are required from an angle or perspective that transcends regions and policy areas, sometimes intersecting the dimensions of time and space. This is precisely the reason for launching the NIDS research book series, “NIDS Perspectives.”