Amid a growing terror threat in other parts of the world, Japan has been dealing with limited terrorist activity so far. A notorious case of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo is a matter of the past, while homegrown jihadist radicalization is negligible. And yet, being an island of safety in a stormy sea is no less of a challenge for the Land of the Rising Sun.
Throughout the past decades, terrorist incidents affecting Japanese nationals or interests have occurred abroad. In a statement aired in 2003, Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, identified Japan as a potential target.
Twelve years later, at a time when the Islamic State gained global prominence, the nation faced a great tragedy. In 2015, ISIS militants took hostage and beheaded two Japanese nationals in Syria, one of whom, Kenji Goto, was a freelance journalist.
As of today, many experts believe that a protracted armed conflict between Israel and Hamas will play a pivotal role in shaping the terrorist threat landscape in 2024. The ongoing hostilities may fuel terrorist plots and assaults outside the area of conflict, encouraging small cells and lone wolf actors to attack targets associated with one of the sides.
Just as important is a menace originating from ISIS. The Islamic State caliphate in Syria collapsed five years ago, but make no mistake: The group is still alive and active. To date, the jihadist organization has around 20 branches and networks operating in Africa, Southeast and Southwest Asia and in the Middle East. As for Asia, ISIS extremist ideology remains particularly entrenched in the Philippines and Indonesia.
In a global fight against extremism, Japan stepped up to the plate by providing aid to international counterterrorism operations. Particularly, Tokyo supports, politically and financially, the US-led international coalition to fight ISIS.
Nonetheless, there is still more room for Japan to increase its counterterrorism cooperation, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. Indeed, Tokyo has a lot to offer its neighbors, be it security equipment or intelligence sharing. For instance, according to a former FBI agent, nobody in the world is better at physical surveillance than Japan’s law enforcement.
Now, a new tool has become available: an aid scheme termed Official Security Assistance (OSA). Established in April 2023, the program allows Tokyo to help developing countries raise their security capabilities.
“Over the past decade, Japan has not only strengthened its alliance with the United States but also deepened its military ties with countries such as Australia and its European allies,” Masaki Mizobuchi, associate professor of Middle East politics and international security at Hiroshima University, told this writer. He added:
Japan has expanded its military cooperation with developing countries in Southeast Asia and beyond, focusing on capacity-building support for the militaries of partner nations.
However, until recently, Japan lacked a framework for providing new equipment to the defense authorities of other countries. Additionally, Official Development Assistance [ODA, Japan’s English term for foreign aid], aimed at the socioeconomic development of recipient countries, cannot be used for military purposes.
This restriction has been a significant obstacle to Japan’s foreign assistance efforts. The establishment of the Official Security Assistance is understood to be a measure to overcome this issue.
Mizobuchi said the cooperation areas include such activities as vigilance monitoring, counterterrorism and counter-piracy, humanitarian efforts, and international peacekeeping operations.
“Nevertheless, as a precaution, The Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology and its associated operational guidelines will be enforced, thereby restricting cooperation to five specific types of logistical support: rescue operations, transportation, alert systems, surveillance, and minesweeping, as delineated in these guidelines,” Mizobuchi added.
Mizobuchi highlighted four aspects in which Japan’s OSA program can contribute to the fight against terrorism in Asia:
- equipment and technology transfer,
- humanitarian assistance,
- intelligence sharing and cooperation,
- maritime security.
In terms of technologies, OSA offers possibilities for “supplying non-lethal security equipment, surveillance technologies, and other critical assets that can bolster the counter-terrorism capabilities of partner countries,” Mizobuchi explained. Establishing intelligence-sharing frameworks could help “monitor and counteract terrorist movements, financing, and radicalization efforts across borders.”
“Japan’s advanced capabilities in disaster response can be leveraged to improve regional resilience,” he added. “Given Japan’s strategic interest in maintaining free and open Indo-Pacific sea lines of communication, its assistance could also extend to maritime security, helping to prevent piracy, smuggling, and terrorism at sea.”
Who will benefit most?
Since 2007, the Asia-Pacific region has suffered over 5,000 terrorist attacks. That is fewer than in the Middle East and Africa but considerably more compared with Europe and the United States. Today, terrorism is still a pressing challenge for Asia and needs to be addressed.
“Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand could benefit significantly, as they have faced various terrorism challenges, including threats from jihadist groups affiliated with ISIS and local separatist movements,” Mizobuchi said while elaborating on OSA’s advantages.
Especially worth noting is the Philippines, which ranks second most affected by terrorism in the Asia-Pacific region, following Myanmar. The country is attractive to ISIS as the group can make use of sectarianism for recruitment and propaganda. In December, Islamic State put itself back in the spotlight by carrying out a deadly bombing at a Catholic Mass in the southern city of Marawi.
The first-ever transfer of aid under the OSA framework was agreed upon in November during the visit of Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the Philippines. Under the deal, Manila receives US$4 million worth of coastal surveillance radars for the navy to enhance the nation’s maritime security.
Counterterrorism activities including joint operations are already on the security cooperation agenda between the two countries. OSA opens up new opportunities in this field and could potentially have an essential impact on the overall security of the region.