The international community has entered ¡°a new era of crisis,¡± according to released Tuesday, with China representing Tokyo¡¯s ¡°greatest strategic challenge¡± and U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s policies expected to ¡°significantly impact¡± the Indo-Pacific region.

The report, which was approved by the Cabinet at a meeting the same day, is packed with tough assessments of the regional security environment Japan faces, as well as a detailed description of progress it has made in strengthening its own defenses.

¡°The international community is facing its greatest challenge since the end of the war and has entered a new era of crisis,¡± the white paper says. ¡°The issues ... are particularly pronounced in the Indo-Pacific region, where Japan is located, and are likely to become even more serious in the future.¡±

The report singles out China as ¡°the greatest strategic challenge Japan has ever faced¡± and says the global balance of power is dramatically shifting, with competition between nations becoming more apparent.

¡°In particular, competition between the United States and China is likely to intensify,¡± it says.

Trump pushed that competition into overdrive in his first term, and has continued to do so during the first six months of his latest term.

The white paper also mentions the second Trump White House¡¯s early focus on Ukraine, the Middle East and his administration¡¯s commitment to Asia while also alluding to the possibility of pronounced shifts in policy.

¡°U.S. actions will significantly impact the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, where Japan is located, and will require continued attention,¡± it says.

Asked why the white paper, which generally covers the period from April 2024 to last March, was limited in its analysis of the Trump administration¡¯s intentions, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani noted that many of the White House¡¯s policies remain unclear.

¡°As of now, the second Trump administration, which was established in January, has not yet published policy documents related to security, such as the National Security Strategy or the National Defense Strategy,¡± Nakatani told a news conference the same day.

While Japan has welcomed Washington¡¯s pledged commitment to the region, reiterated by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a March visit to Tokyo, Trump has also been demanding that the American ally take on more of the burden for its defense in what he has said is their ¡°one-sided¡± alliance.

Beyond a campaign of unilateral tariffs that threaten to throw regional economies into chaos, the Trump administration has also called for allies ¡ª including Japan ¡ª to boost defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product.

Japan has committed to a goal of spending 2% of its gross domestic product on defense, laying out a five-year,...