2020 DEFENSE OF JAPAN Defense White Paper DIGEST Initiatives for Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation ● The proliferation of WMDs and missiles that can deliver them, as well as the proliferation of not only conventional arms but also goods and sensitive technologies of potential military use, pose a pressing challenge to the peace and stability of the international community. International discussions related to Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) are also under way. ● Since April 2018 the MOD/SDF has been sending a personnel as a member of the Group of Experts of the 1540 Committee established pursuant to the UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (adopted in April 2004) to prevent the proliferation of WMDs and their means of delivery to non-state actors. Personnel of the National Institute for Defense Studies providing explanations about UN Security Council Resolution 1540 to lawmakers of Pacific Islands in New Zealand (September 2019) Efforts to Support International Peace Cooperation Activities The MOD/SDF has been proactively undertaking international peace cooperation activities working in tandem with diplomatic initiatives, including the use of ODA for resolving the fundamental causes of conflicts, terrorism and other problems. Dispatch to the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) ● In April 2019, the Government of Japan decided to dispatch staff officers, and later two staff officers were dispatched to the MFO headquarters as the first “Internationally Coordinated Operations for Peace and Security.” ● The dispatched officers engage in liaison and coordination between Egypt and Israel, and the MFO as a Deputy Chief of Liaison and an Assistant Liaison Operation Officer at the MFO headquarters, which is located in the south camp at Sharm El-Sheikh in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula. GSDF personnel serving on the MFO headquarters (April 2020) Dispatch to the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) ● The peace and stability of South Sudan is not only essential for the country itself; but also for the peace and stability in Africa as a whole, as well as a crucial issue that should be dealt with by the international community. ● Japan currently dispatches four officers (logistics, information database, engineering, and aviation operations officers) to the UNMISS headquarters. Support to the UN Triangular Partnership Project (UNTPP) GSDF personnel serving on the UNMISS headquarters (December 2019) ● The UNTPP was founded using funds from Japan as a project to support training for military engineers and the procurement of heavy equipment by the UN DOS. Japan has been dispatching a total of 164 GSDF personnel to Africa to provide nine training sessions for a total of 277 members from eight African countries. ● Considering that 30% or more of PKO personnel are from Asia, Japan has been implementing the projects in Asia and the surrounding regions. ● In addition, given that strengthening sanitation capacity to ensure the safety of deployed personnel has become an issue in UN peacekeeping operations, medical training was implemented in October 2019 International Disaster Relief Activities ● To contribute to the advancement of international cooperation, the SDF has engaged in international disaster relief activities proactively from the viewpoint of humanitarian contributions and improvement of the global security environment. GSDF personnel providing training on the operation of heavy machinery (February 2020) ● In recent years, international disaster relief activities were carried out from November to December 2019 in response to the heavy rains and floods in the republic of Djibouti and from January to February 2020 in response to the major bush fires in Australia. SDF personnel engaging in international disaster relief activities for heavy rains and floods in the Republic of Djibouti (November 2019) Digest 34