China's nightmare: Japan as the future "Israel" of the Indo-Pacific  

Japan, nominally pacifist, has spent decades building one of the world's most sophisticated defence industrial bases. Its capabilities exceed Israel's, at least in terms of breadth and industrial depth. Japan has produced combat aircraft under American licence for decades — the F-15J and the F-2, itself a modified F-16 — and is now a partner in the sixth-generation GCAP programme alongside the United Kingdom and Italy, with a deployment target of 2035. Its production of advanced air-defence and ballistic missile defence systems, including the PAC-3 Patriot and the SM-3, places it firmly among the world's high-technology military powers. Australia has since selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to upgrade its frigate fleet — the first major export defence contract of its kind, a signal that Japan's military-industrial reach is no longer confined to its own shores.