Responding to Chinese Pressure
A Comparative Analysis of Military Spending in Taiwan and Japan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18192/politika.7787Keywords:
Taiwan, Japan, China, military spending, Chinese threat, security alliance, pacifism, political polarizationAbstract
This paper examines Taiwanese and Japanese military spending in response to increased economic, political, and military pressure from China since 2012. Taiwan and Japan, two economically developed democracies that are closely aligned with and dependent on the United States, have responded differently to this increased Chinese pressure, as evidenced by their respective military spending. Through a comparative analysis of the nature of the Chinese threat that each country faces, the security alliance each has with the United States, their respective historical defence orientations, and political polarization within their respective domestic politics, this paper explains why Taiwan’s military spending per capita has consistently exceeded that of Japan since 2012. Through this analysis, this paper concludes that Taiwan’s higher military spending per capita is due to the existential nature of the Chinese threat that it faces, the absence of a formal Taiwanese security agreement with the United States, a strong historical commitment to self-defence, and a domestic political landscape that is highly polarized as it pertains to relations with China. The findings of this paper show that both political and historical factors contribute significantly to and explain contemporary military spending figures and trends in Taiwan and Japan. Understanding the broader context of Taiwan and Japan’s military spending responses is relevant today, China continues to exert pressure and create military tension towards each of these countries.
References
Alkatiry, H., & Triantama, F. (2024). The Dynamics of US Arms Sales to Taiwan: From the F-16 C/D Fighter Jets Rejection to F-16 Viper Fighter Jets Sales. Journal of International Studies on Energy Affairs, 5(1), 95-123.
Attrill, N. (2025, October 28). Trump’s US can still defend Taiwan. But will it? The Strategist.
Bandara, B. (2025). Japan's Military Modernization and Regional Security Dynamics. KDU Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 7(1), 236-249.
Boswinkel, L. (2024). Forever Bound? Japan’s Road to Self-defence and the US Alliance. Survival, 66(3), 105-128.
Cabinet Secretariat of Japan. (1946, November 3). The Constitution of Japan. Retrieved from Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet.
Cai, Y. (2008, December). The Rise and Decline of Japanese Pacifism. New Voices, 2, 179-200.
Chen, T.-h. (2025). The trend and factors of public trust in the military in Taiwan. Japanese Journal of Political Science, 25(3), 162–187.
Chen, Y. W. (2009). The Evolution of Taiwan’s Military Strategy: Convergence and Dissonance. China Brief, 9(23), 8-12.
Chen, Y.-J. (2022, December 27). “One China” Contention in China–Taiwan Relations: Law, Politics and Identity. The China Quarterly, 252, 1025-1044.
Corben, T. (2025, November 4). With Sanae Takaichi, “Japan is back” is back. The Interpreter.
Easley, L.-E. (2017). How proactive? How pacifist? Charting Japan’s evolving defence posture. Australian Journal of International Affairs , 71(1), 63-87.
Economist Intelligence Unit. (2025). 2024 Democracy Index. Economist Intelligence Unit.
European Foundation for South Asian Studies. (2024). Beyond Boundaries China's Deployment of Gray Zone Tactics against Japan and the Philippines. EFSAS.
Evans, G. P. (2023). A Case Study of Cooperation Between Thailand and Japan in Enabling a Secure and Sustainable Future for Their Respective Ageing Populations. Social Science Asia, 9(4), 57-79.
Fell, D. (2018). Government and Politics in Taiwan (Vol. Second edition). Routledge.
Gentry, J. (2025). The Motivation Behind the People’s Republic of China Joint Sword Exercises: An Analysis of Multiple Explanations.
Georgetown Security Studies Review, 13(1), 43-64.
Government of Japan. (2013, December 17). National Security Strategy.
Government of Japan. (2022, December). National Security Strategy of Japan.
Gustafsson, K., Hagström, L., & Hanssen, U. (2019). Long live pacifism! Narrative power and Japan’s pacifist model. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 32(4), 502-520.
He, D.-S., Liu, T.-W., & Lin, Y.-Y. (2024). Efficiency evaluation of intellectual capital for value creation: a case study of the semiconductor industry in Taiwan. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 25(4), 744-774.
Hioe, B. (2024). Trends in Political Identity: Where Does Taiwan Go from Here? Asia Policy, 19(2), 81-89.
Holroyd, C. (2022). Technological innovation and building a ‘super smart’ society: Japan’s vision of society 5.0. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 15(1), 18-31.
Hughes, C. W. (2024). Japan's "Three National Security Documents" and Defense Capabilities: Reinforcing a Radical Military Trajectory. The Journal of Japanese Studies, 50(1), pp. 155-183.
International Monetary Fund. (2025). World Economic Outlook 2025. International Monetary Fund.
Jack, V. (2023, December 31). China's Xi says 'reunification' with Taiwan is inevitable. Politico.
Kawai, K. (2022). Japan’s Reliance on US Extended Nuclear Deterrence: Legality of Use Matters Today. Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament, 5(1), 162-184.
Kosuke, T. (2024, January 4). China Sets Record for Activity Near Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in 2023. The Diplomat.
Kuriwaki, S., Horiuchi, Y., & Smith, D. M. (2025). Winning Elections with Unpopular Policies: Valence Advantage and Single-Party Dominance in Japan. Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 20(4), 439–476.
Lee, N. Y., & Han, S. M. (2017). Politics of party polarization in East Asia. In Routledge Handbook of Democratization in East Asia. Routledge.
Lee, Y., Blanchard, B., & Kao, J. (2025, August 21). Taiwan to massively hike 2026 defence budget as US presses spending increase. Reuters.
Li, X. (2019). The History of Taiwan. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Liang, X., Tian, N., da Silva, D. L., Scarazzato, L., Karim, Z., & Ricard, J. G. (2025). Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2024. SIPRI.
Liff, A. P. (2022, July). The U.S.-Japan Alliance and Taiwan. Asia Policy, 17(3), 125-160.
Ministry of National Defense. (2013). National Defense Report 2013.
Ministry of National Defense. (2023). ROC National Defense Report 2023.
Miura, K. (2023). Strongman politics and China’s foreign policy actors: maritime assertiveness under Xi Jinping. International Affairs, 99(5), 2101-2118.
Mulgan, A. G. (2018). The rise of the prime ministerial executive and the process of administrative reform. In The Abe Administration and the Rise of the Prime Ministerial Executive (Vol. 1). Routledge.
Mulgan, A. G. (2022). Abe continued to lead on defence. AJRC Working Paper. Australia-Japan Research Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
Nachman, L., Kim, H. J., & Yen, W.-T. (2025). The Trump effect on public attitudes toward America in Taiwan and South Korea. The Brookings Institution.
Nobukatsa, K. (2023, January). Reading Japan’s National Security Strategy. Asia-Pacific Review, 30(1), 7-25.
O'Dell, H. (2023, October 25). Where in the World are US Military Deployed? Global Insight.
Packard, G. R. (2010). The United States–Japan Security Treaty at 50: Still a Grand Bargain? Foreign Affairs, 89(2), 92-103.
Robertson, N., & Nakashima, E. (2025, September 19). Trump nixed $400 million in Taiwan military aid, pushing future arms sales.
Washington Post.
Shen, M.-S. (2023). The Development of Taiwan’s Asymmetric Combat Capabilities: A Case Study of the IDS and Military Interactions Between the U.S. and Taiwan. Taiwan Strategists (20), 1-18.
Shi, J. (2024). How population aging impacts the perception of national security and military spending. SN Social Sciences, 4(233).
Shichor, Y. (2025). Peaceful Reunification or Else: Untangling the China-Taiwan Gordian Knot. Journal of Contemporary China.
Shinomoto, S. (2025). Does the military lose public confidence without compliance with civilian control? Experimental evidence from Japan. Journal of Peace Research, 62(3), 564-579.
SIPRI. (2025). SIPRI Military Expenditure Database.
Smith, D. M. (2017). Tōchi no jōken: Minshutō ni miru seiken unei to tōnai tōchi (Party Government and Party Governance: The Case of the Democratic Party of Japan). Social Science Japan Journal, 20(1), 131–133.
Smith, P. J. (2013). The Senkaku/Diaoyu Island Controversy: A Crisis Postponed. Naval War College Review, 66(2), 27-44.
Toshitaka, T. (2024). Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: The Answer for Taiwan's Defense Capability Build-up. In D. Karalekas, F.-K. Liu, & M.
Matsumura, Enhancing East Asian Security Coordination (Vol. 2). World Scientific Publishing Co.
Wagner, A. (2023). Innovating Strategic Ambiguity: Empowering Taiwan’s Defense Amid a Persistent Threat from China. Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, 6(5), 166-174.
Ward, R. (2025). Political Risk in Japan: Looking under the Bonnet. In R. Ward, The Routledge Handbook of Political Risk (pp. 209-218). Routledge.
Wong, W. (2019). Japan's F-35 Acquisition and the Arms Race in the Western Pacific: Strategic Game Changer or Epic Boondoggle? The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, 17(11, no 3).
Yin, Y. (2024). Perceived Political Polarization and its Differential Impact on Political Participation: Evidence from Japan (2005–2019). Journal of East Asian Studies, 24(2), 125–144.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Julian Lammel
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Politika, the Undergraduate Journal of International Affairs, Politics and Policy aims to provide immediate open access to all published content.
Authors retain full copyright of the works published in the journal. All published articles are licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are appropriately credited.
This licensing model affirms the journal’s commitment to open access and the free dissemination of scholarly work. Authors are encouraged to deposit their published work on personal websites and other relevant platforms to maximize visibility and impact.
