Progress in Economic Security Policies and Further Strengthening of National Security Policy Integration Amid the Acceleration of "Securitization"

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Nobushige Takamizawa

In March 2022, I contributed a short paper on how to address economic security in the review of strategic documents at this study group. Since then, the Economic Security Promotion Act was enacted in May 2022. In December 2022, three strategic documents, including the new National Security Strategy (NSS), were formulated. These documents outline key policy directions such as the steady implementation and constant review of economic security legislation, promoting economic security policies to achieve autonomous economic prosperity and maintaining and strengthening international economic order based on free, fair, and equitable rules. In addition, measures related to economic security are included in various chapters¹of the NSS. A key feature of this new strategy is its broad, overlapping, and multi-faceted approach to promoting various policies across different domains.

This paper first examines how economic security is emphasized within national security strategies and compares differences between the old and new NSS. It then provides an overview of the progress made under the 2022 strategic documents. Finally, considering the accelerating trends of 'securitization,' the paper highlights key considerations for taking effective measures to address emerging challenges, including crisis and contingency response as well as planning, strengthening Japan-U.S. cooperation, and promoting broader international collaboration.

Highlighted Policy Areas Related to National Security in the 2013 Strategy

In December 2013, the government formulated Japan's first NSS, setting forth a strategic approach to national security centered on diplomatic and defense policies. It articulated the policy of implementing national security measures in a more strategic and systematic manner across the government. The strategy positioned itself as the basic policy for national security, providing guidelines for security-related policy areas, including maritime, space, cyber, official development assistance (ODA), and energy. It emphasized that diplomatic and defense capabilities should function in an integrated and effective manner, with sufficient consideration of national security perspectives.

While implementation of the 2013 strategy proceeded steadily, its role was largely confined to outlining 'points of consideration' for the execution of individual security-related measures, focusing on the effective conduct of foreign and defense policies. Notably, the term "economic security" was not explicitly used, nor was there a strong emphasis on proactively promoting security-related measures as inseparable and in a cross-sectoral and integrated manner.

The 2022 NSS's Emphasis on the Full Utilization of Comprehensive National Power

The 2022 NSS recognizes that "globalization and interdependence alone do not guarantee peace and development in the international community." Against this backdrop, it provides strategic guidance for Japan's national security policy areas, including diplomacy, defense, economic security, technology, cyber, maritime, space, intelligence, official development assistance (ODA), and energy, highlighting the need for integrating measures to enhance Japan's national security response at a higher level. The NSS explicitly declares itself as Japan's supreme national security policy document.

Compared to the 2013 NSS, the 2022 strategy expands and articulates its scope to include policy guidance for economic security, technology, and intelligence as the areas of national security. It characterizes itself as dramatically transforming Japan's national security policy after the end of WWII from the aspect of its execution and affirming that it "encompasses a broad range of fields beyond traditional boundaries of diplomacy and defense."

The strategy also recognizes China's external posture and military activities as "a matter of serious concern for Japan and the international community" and "an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge." It asserts that Japan should address these challenges by leveraging "comprehensive national power" and further promoting cooperation with allies and like-minded countries. Reflecting this perspective, it underscores the importance of Coordinating with Reinforced Comprehensive Defense Architecture, which includes initiatives to strengthen and expand integrated defense structures.² Additionally, as part of the efforts to reinforce the comprehensive defense architecture, the Strategy calls for establishing a new cooperation framework for the benefit of armed forces and other related organizations, apart from ODA. To deepen security cooperation with like-minded countries, the framework will enable Japan to provide equipment and supplies as well as assistance for the development of infrastructures to improve their deterrence capabilities.

As is well known, a key factor behind these shifts in the 2022 strategy is the growing "securitization" of non-traditional security domains. It highlights the complexity and severity of the international security environment by several notable challenges: (1) attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force including through hybrid warfare, (2) increasingly serious risks in cyber, maritime, space and other domains, (3) increasing threats to supply chains, (4) spreading economic coercion by such means as restricting the exports of mineral resources, food, and industrial and medical supplies, as well as providing loans to other nations in a manner that ignores their debt sustainability, (5) illegally stealing information related to advanced technologies developed by private companies, universities, and other organizations in other countries, and (6) loss of strong leadership in the global governance structure.

Initiatives for Economic Security before the Formulation of the 2022 NSS

Even before the 2022 NSS, Japan had recognized the importance of economic security amid intensifying U.S.-China strategic competition. This awareness was influenced by China's 2017 National Congress, which incorporated the "military-civil fusion development strategy" into the Communist Party's charter, and the Trump administration's 2017 National Security Strategy, which emphasized economic security. Japan's 2018 National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPG) and Medium-Term Defense Program identified economic security-related priorities, including (1) strengthening defense industrial base as an essential foundation for the production, operation, and maintenance of defense equipment, (2) enhancing supply-chain risk management, (3) strengthening intellectual property management, technology management and information security in order to prevent drain of important defense equipment-related technologies.

Building on these efforts, Japan established an Economic Section within the National Security Secretariat (NSS) in April 2020, following the preparatory unit's launch in October 2019. The Economic Security Promotion Council was created in November 2021, setting a comprehensive review policy ³ at its inaugural meeting. In February 2022, the expert panel on legal measures made recommendations, which helped legislative drafting efforts that led to the bipartisan passage of the Economic Security Promotion Act in May 2022.

The law consists of four pillars: (1) ensuring stable supply of critical goods including by designation of specified critical goods, (2) securing stable provision of essential infrastructure services, (3) supporting research and development of advanced critical technologies including by formulation of Visons on R&D, and (4) introducing non-disclosure of sensitive patent applications. Full-scale implementation of all measures began in May 2024, with the formulation of basic policies and guidelines at the initial stage, followed by periodic updates/additions reflecting evolving circumstances. As of March 2025, designated critical goods extend to 12 sectors including semiconductors and metal minerals of 36 types, while designated essential infrastructure sectors have been expanded to 15 including electricity, gas, oil, water, transportation (rail, road, maritime, aviation), telecommunications, broadcasting, postal services, finance, and healthcare.

In addition, in order to support and operationalize such a system, it is essential to expand and build a security clearance system, and in November 2023, a report of the Security Clearance Advisory Committee was compiled, and in May 2024, it was enacted as the "Act on the Protection and Utilization of Important Economic and Security Information" and is scheduled to come into effect in May 2025.

Taking a close look at the measures taken, they are more closely related to the 2018 NPDG in terms of strategic documents. Structure of policy framework was envisioned before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and it should be noted that the scope of legislation is more limited than that of the 2022 NSS, as the report of the Advisory Panel on Economic Security Legislation emphasizes the need not only for updates but also for the need for constant review of the scope reflecting emerging challenges.

The significance of the 2022 NSS, in comparison to the 2013 NSS, is that the new strategy clearly states that economic power is one of the main elements of Japan's comprehensive national power and that economic capabilities are the foundation of policies to achieve a peaceful and stable security environment. In addition, as one of the pillars of the "Strategic Approaches and Major Ways" to ensuring national security, "Promoting Economic Security Policies to Achieve Autonomous Economic Prosperity" is highlighted. In this context, economic security is defined in a broad and wide-ranging sense to ensure Japan's national interests, such as peace, security, and economic prosperity, by carrying out economic measures, and the strategy articulates that Japan will coordinate ideas on necessary economic measures and execute these measures comprehensively, effectively and intensively to enhance Japan's self-reliance and to secure the advantage and indispensability concerning our technologies and others.

Strengthening of National Security Policy Integration Amid the Acceleration of "Securitization"

As discussed in this paper, the scope of economic security in the 2022 NSS is broad, and premised on its "development," as the strategy emphasizes the need for constant examination and review in response to emerging challenges.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, various measures related to economic power and economic security are presented in a wide range of fields from different perspectives, and a multilayered approach is taken to promote these measures while being aware of their interconnectedness. In this regard, it should be recalled that the National Security Council (NSC) Establishment Law was partially revised as part of the development of economic security legislation. An important decision was made to change the NSC Law to add "important economic policies" to the agenda of the National Security Council, along with foreign and defense policies.

In addition, in dealing with strategic competition among major powers, the strategy emphasizes fully utilizing Japan's comprehensive national power, including economic strength, strengthening public-private partnerships, and cooperation with allies and like-minded countries, as mentioned above.

Looking at the changes in the international security environment after the formulation of the 2022 strategy, we can see that (1) the increasing emergence of simultaneous incidents/crises, (2) the complexity and prolongation of crises, (3) the acceleration of the development of the situations and the growing concern of vertical escalation, (4) the growing tendency of crises to spread beyond regions and across various domains, (5) the increasing continuous sequences, linkage, and internationalization of crises, (6) the further increase in the influence of non-state actors, including mega-tech giants, and (7) strategic collusion among some states to create and harness crises for their national interests.

From this perspective, it is important to thoroughly examine and learn the lessons in relation to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, from the Ukrainian government, domestic/international critical infrastructure operators, and the tech giants in the fields of effectiveness/limits of economic sanction, cyber, space, and telecommunications, as well as the assistance of NATO and other countries supporting Ukraine

There have already been a lot of research on what we can learn from the war in Ukraine⁴. Among many lessons, the followings are critical: (1) integration and information sharing of plans within the whole of government and government -business collaboration on a regular basis from peacetime, (2) public-private partnerships between frontline stakeholders such as the Self-Defense Forces and critical infrastructure operators, (3) cooperation between companies in the same industry and among different sectors, and (4) verification of the resilience of the existing systems, conducting regular/ad hoc exercise, and constant review in response to changes in the situation including the information sharing system, (5) consideration of how to ensure business continuity during a conflict based on the premise of supply chain disruptions, large-scale human and material damage, depletion of working people, increased need for supporting employees, including non-regular employees, (6) flexible and improvised business/system operations and revisions in response to prolonged and changing situations, and (7) two-way international cooperation on a broad basis beyond Japan-U.S. cooperation (promoting planning, information sharing, pooling human resources and prioritizing mutual support).

In addition to these trends, we must bear in mind an increase in instability, interconnectedness, unpredictability both domestically and in international politics, caused by deepening divisions around the world, dysfunction of international organizations and a decline in awareness of norm compliance, and the increasing impact of rapidly advancing technological innovations such as AI. We should not simply say that the second Trump administration's approach under the "America First" policy is a direct cause or symptom of "securitization," unilateral application of policy measures such as high tariff imposing policy is certainly accelerating on going securitization further, even if it is meant to deal with national security concerns at best.

Therefore, it is necessary to take a broader look at economic security policies considering such trends as deepening securitization, increased need for integration of various policies and increasingly malfunctioning existing international frameworks. While frequently examining and evaluating the effectiveness and limitations of individual policy measures, we must promote economic security policies more flexibly to timely address emerging challenges.

The Economic Security Promotion Act is designed to make a review three years after its enactment and the Defense Production Base Enhancement Act will be reviewed based on the status of enforcement of the Act and necessary measures will be taken approximately five years after its enforcement. Given the fact that the measures envisioned in the strategy have almost been completed as the initial stage implementation with the submission of the Cyber Security Bill in February 2025, it is high time for Japan to make a comprehensive review on the "measures necessary to secure Japan's national interests, such as peace and security and economic prosperity by taking economic measures," with full consideration given to all aspects and all phases of crises including actual occurrence of conflicts and difficulty of resolving conflicts in a short period, once they occurred.

(Visiting Professor, The University of Tokyo)

[1] These include Coordinating with Reinforced Comprehensive Defense Architecture, Reinforcing Defense Production and Technology Base as Defense Capabilities Themselves, Strengthening Efforts to Seamlessly Protect Japan in All Directions and Domestic Base that should be Strengthened to Support Japan's National Security, which starts with Strengthening the Economic and Fiscal Bases.
[2] The NSS highlights "With this in mind, Japan will reinforce its comprehensive defense architecture by promoting efforts in four areas that complement and are inseparable from the fundamental reinforcement of defense capabilities under the frameworks of relevant ministries and agencies, namely research and development, public infrastructure development, cyber security, and international cooperation, to enhance deterrence capabilities of Japan and like-minded countries.
[3] At the first meeting of the Council for the Promotion of Economic Security, the concept of "Toward the Promotion of Economic Security" was presented, which clarified the areas to be addressed as economic security legislations while aiming at the three goals of improving autonomy, securing superiority and indispensability, and maintaining and strengthening the international order based on fundamental values and rules. It is important in the sense that it is the basis for the subsequent comprehensive policy development of the government, including the strategic documents, which propose a policy of building a system for the government to make inter-agency/whole of government response, promoting strategic international cooperation, and strengthening industry-academia-government collaboration by making full use of all policy tools including comprehensive national power. Since then, the Council for the Promotion of Economic Security has decided on important policies at milestones, but all of them were made without holding in-person meetings.
[4] For example, "Cyber Warfare in Ukraine" (Mihoko Matsubara, Shinchosha, 2023). Focusing on the perspective of cybersecurity, this book discusses lessons learned in the pre-war and during the war, how governments, critical infrastructure operators, civilians, foreign governments such as the United States and the United Kingdom, and tech giants worked together to protect critical infrastructure and maintain its function with ingenuity and ingenuity in the face of high risk. The analysis is based on the author's own awareness of critical infrastructure, and there are many points that can be referenced.

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July 2021, "Thailand's Security Policies and Threat Perceptions" written by Saya Kiba, Associate Professor, Komatsu University, Faculty of Intercultural Communication.

July 2021, "Myanmar's Security Perceptions and the February 1 Coup d'Etat" written by Yoshihiro Nakanishi, Associate Professor, Kyoto University.

July 2021, "Australia's Security Perceptions and the "Asia Threat"" written byTomohiko Satake, Senior Fellow, Defense Policy Division, Policy Studies Department, NIDS .

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