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US sailors conduct routine maintenance on a jet blast deflector on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz on July 9, 2025. (US Navy)
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Japan's Self-Defense Forces conduct landing training on November 25, 2021, at Tanegashima, an island of Kagoshima Prefecture. (Getty Images)
This event will premiere on this page at 12:00 p.m. EDT, Monday, May 9. Register for the event here
Last week, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Research Commission on Security presented pathbreaking recommendations to strengthen Japanese defense capabilities, including obtaining a "counterstrike capability" and aiming for a defense budget that is equivalent to 2% or more of GDP. These recommendations are designed to inform the new government’s strategy and have the potential to move Japan away from its traditional defense-only security posture. To examine the report and its recommendations, Hudson Institute will welcome Commission Chairman and former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, former State Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahisa Sato, and former Minister of Justice Takashi Yamashita , for a discussion with Walter P. Stern Distinguished Fellow Ken Weinstein. Please join us for this timely discussion.
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A US soldier fires on a target during a squad training exercise at the 7th Army Training Command’s Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany on September 9, 2026. (US Army)
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First Lady of China Peng Liyuan, Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump, and First Lady Melania Trump walk on the red carpet during an arrival ceremony on September 23, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. (Getty Images)
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(Screenshot via Fox News)
