Japan's airpower in 2035 with Oue Sadamasa and Douglas Barrie

In the second episode of Japan Memo season 3, Yuka Koshino hosts former Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Lieutenant General Oue Sadamasa, currently Consulting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Geoeconomics in Tokyo, and Douglas Barrie, IISS Senior Fellow for Military Aerospace.

Yuka, Oue-san and Doug analyse Japan’s current airpower and aerospace capabilities, assess the regional threats around Japan and how its new strategies and the JASDF might address them, offer their insights on opportunities and roadblocks to the landmark Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), and examine what Japan’s air force and air defence capabilities might look like beyond 2035.

Topics discussed include:

• The security environment surrounding Japan and the imminent threats posed to the JASDF;
• The impact of the three new national-security documents on Japan’s airpower;
• The significance of GCAP and its progress so far;
• The industrial implications, opportunities and headwinds for GCAP to the British, Japanese and Italian defence industries; and
• Japan’s investment in advanced technology and future warfighting capabilities to sustain airpower beyond 2035.

The following literature is recommended by our guests to gain a clearer picture of the topics discussed:

• ‘令和4年版防衛白書 2022’ / ‘Defense of Japan 2022’ (Annual White Paper), Ministry of Defense, Japan
• Literature by authors such as Endo Shusaku and Kawabata Yasunari

We hope you enjoy the episode and please follow, rate, and subscribe to Japan Memo on the podcast platform of your choice.

Date of Recording: 9 February 2023

Japan Memo is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.

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