feel like they have to vote that party and they do not, they then jump the party line and vote for the candidate of their choice. in this past election, we did democratrepublican or good running candidates. host: we are going to take our viewers to the center of strategic and international studies program getting underway on japan's strategy for the trump administration. we will see you back here tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern on the washington journal. you will find the exits are back behind you and you go down one floor, exit down through the we will meet at the corner of national geographic down left and left.

together with japan center for economic research is delighted to host this discussion of three of japan's leading statesmen with particular expertise in national security and to talk about our alliance in the years ahead. i will introduce the other members of the panel in a moment . let me mention they are all here in washington for the week as part of what's known as golden week and to join discussions here and around town under the mount fuji dialogue, which jcre runs. --jcer. our cooperation runs deep. the jcer tanaka issued

report on the future of the japan u.s. alliance which they kindly call the japanese version of the armitage report, a series of papers on the future of the alliance. coherentrategic and and actionable through print -- actionable blueprint of the leaders brought together. joining us today are three of the regulars in the mount fuji dialogue. three of the most important contributors to the u.s. japan alliance in recent years or it to my immediate left is gern nakatani. he served as defense minister from 2000 14 to 2000 extreme and was deeply involved on the

security legislation and new interpretations of article nine, defense guidelines. is a former member and a graduate of the defense academy and ensure when he graduated and was a second lieutenant and i showed him the u.s. japan security meetings with the name gen, people were bit can use. i'm sure is rapid promotion and success is due to merit. and not his first name. sitting in the center is another onoderaefense minister, . prefecture.miyagi 2014sted him in july of for the first real description -- abeabbe administration.

he is a graduate of tokyo university. sitting all the way on your hima. is nagas he is had a very interesting two weeks. two weeks ago he was a member of the democratic party of japan. -- now he has moved independent which you might ask -- which we might ask him about. sites with meat and graduated, he served lasting government as a special advisor to prime minister noda.

a five to 10 opening statement. tiny --nakatani will talk about collective self-defense and other self forms. -san will talkra about missile defense, in particular about what we do with allies with north korea. nagashima will discuss working with trump administration. you can use this odium if you like or stage her seat. if you to join me in welcoming gen nakatani. [applause]

[speaking japanese]

>> last year more than 20 times missiles were launched and the nuclear test were conducted twice. 12 this year, a new

solid fuel was used. in march, four missiles were launched simultaneously and three out of four landed in the on april 5, or it missiles were launched but this failed. the uss carl vinson is getting year at this time. in spite of that, a missile was launched. we are invest getting the reasons why it failed. that was the intermediate range missile. it was very threatening behavior by north korea. the ultimate goal of north korea is to maintain the regime of kim

jong-un by holding nuclear weapons and trying to warn and try to preserve their regime. development for the regime is inseparable. kim jong-un is almost tapping on the tail of japan. i don't believe there is no chance of making progress in negotiations. , for aort-term basis while, they may refrain from nuclear attacks and missile launches. -- on a long-term basis, it's possible they develop new

-- a missile which could reach the mainland of japan, that would increase the threat. if they were to give up or abandon the development of a , that would lead to the collapse of the regime so that probably would not happen. if it such a long distance the missile were to develop, that would be the real threat. need to put our own option available, including the military option. they're suggesting the possibility of a first strike. if they were to continue the

thatopment, it's possible north korea would implode. resolve, by the key those exercises are being conducted jointly between the and south korea. those exercises are being but, they are the special forces and the possibility of the first strike. they are moving the carl vinson to the korean peninsula. escort ship is more than

capable of having helicopters and they can monitor behavior of the summaries of the enemy countries and the escort ship is thehe day tried to escort refueling vessels, which deliver fuel to the u.s. fleet. at the time of giving a speech the self-defense -- es began to whisper ago was mentioned six years as an --, i think that was the right approach and together with

forces in the u.s., they act together, it's quite natural. for the japanese defense it is much needed. within that, the protection is very useful, the protections of the arms. the training has been conducted with the armies and for reckless deter the we try to acts of north korea. when i was the head of the , from thepartment carrier kitty hawk when it left together with the

to stayard, they tried around the carrier and that was under the name of research and study, but now we have a solid legal structure to do this or it detection, interception and there was on civility. all that should be acquired by japan. the early warning satellite will be necessary and is included in the proposal. the missile should be solidified between the two countries.

what happens between china and the u.s., this into talk over the phone. currently china is tentative of and if. in many ways they are able to give up the nuclear missile development of north korea. if something can't be done, the preemptive strike of the u.s. will be approved. isrefore china's response there on significant importance and i think the chinese much to their best effort. the japanese response, we should contribute to the peace and stability of the region.

we really have to protect -- the protection of the area, a solid response is necessary. we will have olympic games years -- and attacks happen ever in the world. we do have counterterrorism responseand gray zones much be studied. alliance system should work, the operational action plan and they

should be formulated in a solid forer for us to be ready whatever may common the future. thank you very much for your attention. [applause] >> good morning ladies and and this, i'm onodera was the second or third time on given this opportunity and before this i served as a defense minister. i was in charge of the thecymaking and this time missile defense we put together the proposal and submitted to the prime minister and that

paper has in distributed to you for your reference. what we're really concerned is the four missiles launched by north korea. they launched it towards the sea of japan and the purpose of their launch was explained by north korea. intended tot was attack the u.s. forces already in japan. some of the missiles used solid you'll. -- fuel. the missile capability of north

korea becomes higher. we may not know from when and where the missiles are launched. about five nuclear tests were talked -- conducted by north korea. the militarization of the nuclear arms becomes were close to completion and that can be taken as a major threat to japan. from theto protect have aic missile, we do ballistic missile defense. this defense, what's , weicult is on like before at 65 days of when north korea

launch. therefore we typically have a lot of readiness. i think this is in effect -- missiles would be introduced at high altitude and deployment would be needed in japan. that argument has been conducted. the therefore current mode defense capabilities from the u.s. should be improved in japan and that's and can -- that is concluded in -- included in our proposal.

we introduce the idea to transform our policy is the idea of possible counterattack enemy spaces. our policy is to defend ourselves, that is it. we will not possess equipment where we attack enemies. with that policy we are able to defend our country. the use of the bombers that came , thepan and drop bombs ground to air missiles can be used to counter attack.

we can counter that. we are very capable submarines. however, if the situation around japan keeps changing. in order to attack japan they are thinking of using it the list that missile. missiles launched from north korea. it only takes a little over 10 minutes. in cooperation with the u.s., we have a missile defense is them in place. what worries us is the missile defense requires very higher technology capabilities. if there are some of missiles coming one after another, there will be a limit as to the

capability of us defending. attackly need to counter so that we can neutralize by neutralizing enemy space. ,or the first time in history we made reference to a counter attack capability whether or not japan should possess such capability. under the alliance, a counter , northis concerned korea's capability is getting higher and in order to enhance -- we think both to japan and u.s. should have the capability involved by the counterattack. our policy is to defend ourselves only and that policy

will continue. however, the way enemies attack us has been changing because of advancement of technology. preemptive strike. andver if we are attacked to prevent a second or third attack, we feel that we would need to own such capabilities. that has to be done with coordination and cooperation and we're not thinking japan alone would counterattack. we should consider having that kind of capability. we feel a lot of tension with respect to the behavior by north korea.

the north korean intention is to attack u.s. bases located in japan and even though that is a direct attack, it's not a direct attack on the mainland united date, that would be considered as an attack to the u.s. and japan. we should further enhance our cooperation between these countries and to deal with this threat. what's most important is the efforts in the area of diplomacy. thank you. [applause] nagashima: good morning. i am delighted to be here to speak about the japanese security strategy with the trump

administration. i became independent two weeks ago. i've been fully enjoying the freedom of speech. [laughter] since c-span's broadcasting this event. let me make my presentation in english. for the sake of american viewers my presentation is a brief presentation today of trying to focus on three issues. first alleged talk about the trump administration's foreign policy. next i will give you my quick strategic -- of the pacific region. finally i present some proposals to strengthen the u.s. japan alliance to deal with those dynamics in the region.

during the presidential campaign , an initial phase since the inauguration, there are a wide spectrum of concerns shared among japanese members about trump's foreign policy. we encountered a series of unknowns with the new administration since his campaign promises did not echo traditional foreign policy foundations of the u.s. republicans. as we viewed u.s. retrenchment from being the leader of the international order. especially the withdrawal from the trans-pacific partnership and the preference of the bilateral negotiation that

emphasized the benefit of american progress. created doubts on u.s. on open and inclusive economic -- in the asian pacific. president trump's own convictions for u.s. allies that they need to pay their fair -- as if also gained the alliance could also be a part of his deal. value ofmentioning the endearing commitment -- enduring commitment to peace and ability, strengthening the alliance. , the first 100 days of trump's foreign policy have mended many doubts. the summit meeting between president trump and prime minister abe reiterated the u.s.

commitment to the alliance and that has provided an assurance to u.s. allies in the region. tillersonts of rex and general james mattis and general h.r. mcmaster as key members of his national security team witness that the u.s. reside far from isolationism, but remains far from active engagement. , the through strength leading concept of the foreign policy of the trump administration is also at play in asia, especially with north korea. the u.s. demonstrates large scale presence in the korean peninsula. pressuring china to play the

pivotal role to tighten economic sanctions. the trump administration's proposed budget outline to increase military spending as well to modernize major equipment, to fortify and to invest in future technology. fromeep good prospects promising defense strategy. did we assure allies in asia and europe. going to give you a quick overview of challenges in the asia-pacific region. , tokyopast several years and washington have worked ever-changingnage dynamics in the region.

2015, we upgraded the u.s. japan guidelines followed by a comprehensive national security -- to provide outlines on operational scope of the platform to legal house the more integrated bilateral operations. the u.s. japan alliance has been in good shape and i have a lot of positive views of the current status. alliance needs to have constant updates. without which it can easily dilute from strategic shop that we will face. first and foremost, the rise of china.

the chinese defense budget exceeded japan's in 20 -- 2004. it most likely will become six 2020, more than 10 times bigger in 2030. these facts. we have to face with logic of the alliance management where japan's relative power will likely become constantly area to china and this gap is increasingly widening. north korea's nuclear and missile program proves to be mostly immediate. i agree with the trump administration is assuming, that is the so-called phase strategy.

, placement ofhase additional economic sanctions on north korea. we are -- on the second phase, to include all this means. . think is the right approach toyo and washington need discuss further on the exit draghi -- exit strategy. countries are committed to the denuclearization as a common goal. this is a great asset the parties need to maintain. temporary tension with action is produced by north brea's --

north korea's freeze on nuclear and icy and deployment, with alleged secret deals by washington and beijing. when we talk about the red line. from our perspective, it has already been crossed a long time ago. allianceeed here is an containmentlong missing north korea. maintaining constant strategic superiority in every domain. the objective is to be recognized as a nuclear armed state with determined capability. therefore, they repeatedly can you that the peace talks are dead and thus pyongyang would

not abide by the joint state ment. needngton, tokyo and seoul to decisively deny north the apostle active by maintaining -- objective -- did i north korea's objective. pursuing of the objectives against us will not thatthis is the only way north korea will seek serious negotiations with the security council. some proposals for strengthening u.s.lliance, first, the needs to further materializing this bilateral responses, especially joint response to

challenges. well as ensuring operational environmentin the in the medium to high and conflict should be highlighted. japan has thene, primary responsibility to deal with it. the mobile deployment of light armored units and amphibious capabilities based on the operations among the japanese coast guard, ground and air forces and the u.s. force in japan. find high-end

operations. to that end, i believe it is the u.s. to, with japan joint concept of projecting power despite air challenges are a term used by u.s. strategy guidance in 2012. japan needs to dramatically increase the resiliency of defense form said assets. we should not let china neutralize the u.s. forces in the operation. measures including fighter based air defense and cruise missile defense, harboring of facilities , tactical this among multiple in theater bases must be

highlighted. asiaallies and partners in need to enhance security corporation among cells. i have long been a proponent of the host region support in addition to the current set of host nations or of each out -- toion support of each ally strategically ensure the presence in the region as well as facilitating the operational some court. cooperation among key allies in looting south korea -- including south korea and south asian partners based on the host region support network across the region under japan's leadership is vitally important to develop. japan and the u.s. together

could be -- with regional partners would need to ramp up ,he capacity in southeast asia namely the philippines and vietnam. it is consummate challenging in the south china sea. a rapid first development to enhance the maritime domain awareness of japan's capabilities and to facilitate an operating picture to counter behaviors of the chinese. i will stop here and look forward to your comments and questions. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you to each of you for concise and for size

observations on the challenges and responsibility on us as allies. ofwill ask a few questions our distinguished statesman on this day didn't open it up for your westerns in a moment. -- questions in a moment. i appreciated what you said about the nose goes state approach to north korea, the pressure in diplomacy. like you i am skeptical that we will get much out of diplomacy. i actually wrote the first memo when i was on the nsc staff and there was some hope. experience has taught us all that we cannot expect a renewed effort of pressure will change kim jong-un's calculations.

a freeze temporary agreement connection do more harm than good if it undermines deterrence and the credibility of our extended deterrent. you always one question of ask. he said we have to be paired for a collective effort to contain the north korea nuclear program and then you mentioned your study on host regional support, the idea that the region should share responsibility, but also decision-making. there has been talk of bringing back the so-called quad. security thatral

prime minister abe had proposed. role korea has a critical and i believe i'm correct when you are foreign minister, the got, japan and the rok close to a statement that would have been collective security. that never actually became public. we have all these different recent examples of the quad with movement towards collective security statements with federated defense. all the pieces are there, but we have not done any of it. are we at a stage, especially with north korea, where the u.s., japan and others need to inc. about some kind of deeper collective security arrangement?

, but somethingto different than what we done in the past. since you raise the question, what we start with you and give us your thoughts on whether we need to move from the bilateral strategy to something closer to this collective security arrangement in asia. , we need to deepen the security arrangement in order to do so, particularly given the situation in the korean peninsula. the strategic tie between japan and south korea needs to be tightened and strengthened.

not this can be achieved politically. it's a very important point. to the been continuing united states for a long time and we anticipated that we are going to have -- with south korea and now we have that with australia and even with russia, but it has not happened. currently we are experiencing very tense fluctuation with north korea. we always enjoy good relationship between japan and the u.s. in the united states and south korea, but i think it's a good opportunity for japan to father the cooperation with south korea and we should add australia and india.

10 years, 7.5 billion dollars investing that money in strengthening the presence of the united date in asia pacific, that was proposed in the u.s. and i am looking to see how this would develop. in japan, if the trump administration asks japan to further build up our defense capability or increase the , then the defense defense budget could be raised .p to 1.2% of gdp

that -- the budget can be used to increase the accessibility and increase the infrastructure capability to support resins. -- presence. so, i believe that japan should take leadership in .tructuring the network in asia first i would like to talk about the relationship with south korea. when the missile was launched by north korea and that was considered as the exercise to attack u.s. bases in japan. missiles so they wanted to demonstrate that they could simultaneously attack

different bases in japan. has responded to the defense of south korea and japan and a really would like the n public to .nderstand that japan also has responsibility in the respect -- in that respect. i would like to talk about my personal view about the north koreans to tuition. -- situation. china definitely had some influence over north korea, however if you look at the recent relationship between

china and north korea, that gives me some doubts. the secretary tillerson had a president andhe north korea had an icbm test. when vice president pence was touring asia, north korea conducted a ballistic missile test. north koreame that is not can turn about -- is not concerned about china. kim jong-un is not been abroad at all while in power.

in the past, the president of -- a the presidency had a meeting with president trump. i do not believe in theory to make the nuclear development stop even if china exerted more pressure. once china has stopped providing oil to north korea, however that triggered a talk. even though north korea did not receive oil from china, it possible it could get it from russia. about thee worry

other impact of the sanction to be imposed by china. question how the trump administration would deal with this. another bomb was used and korea -- there is some posture by the trump administration and even with that, if north korea continues nuclear development, what would be the next death of the trump administration. will they try to be patient like the previous administration? fourth north korea does not respond, what other steps will be taken?

japan needs to pay a lot of attention to the next step is the trump administration to the japan u.s. alliance from .ilateral to lateral .his is very important effective iny south korea. including the japan, u.s. and south korean meetings would take place. between japan and south korea there are many issues. ,owever with this trilateral things became more smooth in many ways.

between japan and south korea there is --, but there is the involvement of the u.s.. ,hen the missiles are launched momentarily the three countries can share information. i think it's an important milestone. there is a trilateral defense leaders meeting still. that has given a very good between japan and the u.s., we have a good alliance mechanism. with three countries, it's a similar mac and is him --

mechanism. should increase and enhance the relationship between the three countries and there's an important role play. -- role to play. we are able to provide support to the rest of the world. japan is able to provide support to the u.s. actually from bilateral to multilateral, the involvement of australia and india.

the cooperation with india is critical. are activee forces in antipiracy. also the terrorism, how to introduce the counterterrorism and the ship inspections. i think the multilateral andoach is more effective the feeling for maritime security, multilateral should be advanced. >> in the unclassified statement from the administration, it seems there is a consent this that in donald trump's first term, north korea will develop some kind of icbm capability.

a missile and warhead that could potentially hit the u.s., whether it is demonstrated or works remain questions. will be some kind of new threat -- there will be some kind of new threat in the coming years and there are concerns about coupling, the idea that the u.s. would not maintain its nuclear umbrella over japan because it is not directly threatened. .his is not new it is understandable these concerns would, up now that we face a situation where the u.s. homeland could possibly get hit directly by a missile. in your comments i heard a little bit of flavor of concerns

about decoupling. you said it would not be good if the u.s. and china arranged something with north korea that maybe temporarily halted the icbms, but get the targeting in place. that would be an example of decoupling concerns. onodera talked about the surface to surface missile. u.s.nk many people in the are saying from a requirements standpoint, you do have counterstrike capabilities. that is or geopolitical and symbolic and not just military. could all three of you give our audience a sense of how serious aboutncern is, in japan

decoupling? is it a study or is this a real development, a real requirement japan will probably push, and should we be worried about this in washington, and paying attention to make sure our nuclear umbrella is as credible as possible? capabilities,ke -- ballistic missiles launched against japan and with the myth of the -- missile defense, it is intercepted and the second and third launch will continue and in order to stop that from happening, we need to have readiness.

counterattack is needed. areresponse capabilities mainly in hawaii and guam. bombing from the bases in hawaii and guam would be the major one. it may take time, and we need readiness and in order to keep the second and third one from to in somedo need capability -- way to enhance our safety, so japan has a role to play. among all the countries in the world, when the countries did talk, we did have self-defense, but by preventing ourselves from preventing the other fight -- other five from launching, i think japan is a country which does not have that capability.

the does not mean we engage in war, but when the second attack is carried out by the enemy, we do have some ability of self-defense to keep our enemy from doing so and i think that is constitutional and that is our interpretation of the constitution and what we have to , we made aovernment proposal for the prime minister and the prime minister accepted think we dol and i need to cooperate. -- that is something we worry so much about, the operation of the trump administration, because president trump said america first, and america is more important, so we wonder what would happen.

however, after the president trump became president, the first summit he had, with prime minister abbe and they were playing golf and the established a very friendly relationship of trust. tillerson came to japan soon after they were appointed to their positions and i understand that general mcmaster has a lot of understanding and knowledge of japan. -- i think this is the time where we really have to discuss the strategic importance between japan and the united states. shoulder to this

alliance, and we really should play a role in the risk -- in a responsible manner and that needs to be worked out. the counterattack against enemies really has to do with without so,rity, so we -- we cannot completely insulated our safety by relying on the united states. word gets around very quickly, anduav could be utilized also information could be shared between allies and based on that, they can divide the responsibility. which will beield

responsible for providing shield and which one is responsible for providing arm, i think those need to be -- and we should anduss more about doctoring other weapons such as biological, chemical weapons. we need to prevent proliferation of such dangerous weapons. system to manage such situations. need to impose sanctions if it is violated. providing the rhetoric of deterrence, we continue to preserve peace. by the flexible deterrence -- we really do need to

give strong support to that. as far as decoupling discussions have been going on, among experts, particularly europe, now that japans is now debating the defense situation and the current thattion in north korea the media has become very the japanese think have become very worried and concerned. the discussion has become so he did, everyone needs to maintain calmness -- so he did -- he ated, everyone needs to maintain calmness.

do.e is not much japan can we either asked the united states do or the united states and china discussed the things and work rings out and there is not much of a role to be played by japan. it is a awkward situation. this discussion needs to be done very seriously. of course the counterattack capability, possessing such ability is necessary. however, the defense cooperation between japan and the united conducted in be various different levels. for example, by sharing information, we can determine the interceptor

missiles. cooperation,ers of it would strengthen japan and the united states. >> what we take some questions from the audience? you can direct it to a member of year or broadly -- member up here or broadly. >> thank you. teaching disaster preparedness in japan. my question is regarding in a terrible event, there was an attack on japan, they would be a large number of civilian casualties who would require humanitarian assistance. the japan self-defense force and the u.s. military work together wonderfully -- worked together wonderfully six years ago after the jump -- after the earthquake in eastern japan.

my question is given the dangers of an enemy attack, is the self-defense force and the u.s. american -- u.s. military working together on how to provide large-scale humanitarian help in the future, if needed and is this planning going to include working with the civilian authorities for disaster relief in japan? >> -- there is a law regarding protection of the citizens at the kentucky -- at the time of contingency, how to protect the lives of the citizens, and even the plancipal level, to be prepared when the missile

was launched, actually a evacuation was done. will actes in japan we need toth us and consider the possibility of receiving support from u.s. forces. very effective support was provided by the u.s. forces, so we would like to continue conducting exercises based on trust. the eastme of earthquake, i was one of the and i actually saw how much support was

provided by u.s. forces. i think at the time of such a disaster, i think that u.s. weport is very critical and need the support, but what is important is to prevent such an attack and for that, we need diplomacy and missile defense. jailer a system called korealert if north actually comes to japan, immediately, the japanese government, the center of government would send an alert to the municipal governments and each municipal government is and weo issue an alert

will receive such an alert by mobile phone. it will only take a few minutes for a missile to launch, so we really need to figure out where to evacuate people and then provide shelters. the relief of the affected people is very important. -- this has been discussed about thethat, assumption of this kind of emergency, the program had been updated completely. the united states and the allied forces, how to evacuate noncombatants. there has been a lot of programs updated.

between japan and south korea, as far as i know, between us, the japanese are noncombatant insole. jointly evacuate them and send them overseas. i think there is not much discussion and plans for me -- follmann dated between the two plan -- between the two governments and last -- unless we do that seriously, the same situation could happen at any therefore, it is something we really have to improve. saving of the evacuees. is a very important studying point for us to conduct a discussion, in japan and south korea. the united states has a important role to play when the

japanese are evacuated from the korean peninsula. carries out. forces the evacuation, the japanese nationals may join. between japan and the u.s., cooperation is needed. in recent years, traveling to japan, one often hears that japan's concerns for security are mainly centered on china where many japanese perceive the u.s. as more worried about korea. comments, it seems you have changed your ranking or ordering. is that accurate? is it driven by the recent missile test my north korea? newn that the administration is prioritizing working with china, in years past, the japanese have been

worried that japan might be bypassed in favor of working with china in order to address regional and global problems. do you sense any fear that this is something you are seeing happening and a you have any advice for the abbe administration? theur greatest concern is military expansion of china, china has been expanding and eggs -- extending its interest. these china sea is is -- how to protect the islands is a japanese from the

defense posture, we have to protect the south china sea. the reclamation of the coral reef cannot be tolerated and that is the place where -- there may increase japanese safety and japan to collaborate with the rest of the world so that japan could convince china to follow the rules set by the international community. the difference between north korea and china is that china is able to consult diplomatically. in north korea, the policy cannot work, and therefore, the crisis facing us is north korea should be at the top of the

list, the top of the ranking but currently, china using the lateral approach in trying to tame -- change the south china sea. japan and russia used to have very good relations. -- the ukraine is a distant place from japan, but we should not tolerate the coercive change therefore and together with the united states, japan carried out the sanctions and japan and russia, the relations have been somewhat strained, but if the change of status by force, i think that is

a universal principle, so anything which is contrary to that,nd consistent with that is a basic principle of the united states, and therefore japan and the united states should be firm against china, convinced them for a change of status by force is not tolerable and that china can respond to that, diplomatically. the north korean threat is an immediate threat, short-term threat. the chinese threat, i don't know if i can call it a threat. it is a medium to long-term threat. we should separate the two types of threat. in any case, we have a great concern about chinese activities. the emergence of the trump administration, but this may be our perception, the trade issue

that the trump administration -- they decided not to use the current manipulator as a status for china. -- if china -- takes a different -- oach the artificial island reclamation happen so rapidly. i may be wrong and please correct me, but freedom of navigation operation has not been carried out in the months after the start of the trump administration. while you look at the situation of china and the islands in the

fighters seema, to exist. whether they are just in training or they are formerly -- formally deployed for military purposes, but military aircraft exists there, that is a fact and aerefore as time passes, strategic balance seems to weigh more heavily and more advantageously to china. this is not -- >> on stage year and in the front row, we have the best and brightest of japan's national security thinkers.

the reality is, we can probably get many more members to fill the rose who would agree with what you are saying -- the ws with people who would agree with what you are saying. wrong,can tell me i'm but i would argue that on -- among american allies, treaty allies, there is more consensus on strategy and japan than there is, anywhere. that is quite impressive. time, the national security legislation was a hard legislative fight. what almost happened was the japanese opposed it. some people put out opinion polls that show if japan were attacked, only 12% of the

japanese would join the defense forces to fight, as an indication that japan is very passive. if you do the math, that's a 10 million man army. 20 times the current self-defense force, so that is impressive unless all who answered were 75 years old. we don't know. you do, anyway. you are at the intersection of strategy and politics. what is your sense of the japanese public opinion on these security challenges, on the self-defense forum and the defense policy reform on collective self-defense, for example the counterattack against enemy bases? are you a way -- way ahead of the public? where is the public opinion?

>> i think it is important to when the japan the treatycurity -- that was discussed, there was a huge opposition and there were some deaths in the protest. of thesee hardly any japanese would think that that -- think that there is no need for the security treaty. if time goes on, we will be able to understand the importance of

security legislation and when we discussed about security years ago, we said that in order to count told -- counter missile notcks from north korea, only our own by japan, but also owned by the united states as necessary. if there was a huge crisis in korea and that we need to deal with a lot of -- and whether japan alone could deal with it, so those are the examples that were presented to the public and currently, we have this tension. legislationt of the is in place, and we can deal with it.

we really need to take leadership, looking ahead and put in place the necessary legislation, two years ago. we did not agree with the party leaders and the reason why i left the democratic party of japan is because of that. day-to-day,from the and of course the security -- security arrangement should not be too much or too little. however, we have some trouble in doing too much in one area. these days, i think people really recognize that too little

security is not enough. we really have to put in necessary legislation. ago, -- ime two years politicize the issue too much. one thing i would like to add is in 2003, i think the attorney -- at thatnce to time, the democratic party of -- played very important and we are to build consensus and passed legislation. however, two years ago, it did not happen. we failed to form political conduct political consensus.

probably, the ldp should be a little -- was a little too arrogant and i think they really to the party in a conciliatory manner and if in that kind of environment were built, then some of the opposition party members would have agreed to that. that was rather unfortunate. >> when you were answering questions as the defense minister, was he the best questionnaire because he knew so much or was he the worst questioner because he knew so much? [laughter]

>> i think he is always one step so heof ruling parties, promotes this very odd forthcoming but realistically, we had to vote against it, but us members of the democratic party mode -- of japan who had a very progressive view, we were talking about constitutions and what is unfortunate is the democratic party of japan is very negative of us having a constitution the issues. just to hold the meeting is very difficult, because they are very reluctant.

members that proposed about the meeting and that person was so criticized in the party, and he was very discouraged, so even within that party, there was not much discussion going on with regard to the constitution. for japan, i hope the democratic party of japan should deal with this issue more seriously. >> one of the most important contributors to our reliance in recent history. alliance in recent history. [applause]