Written by Enrico D’Ambrogio.
Japan’s culture of national resilience is one of the most advanced in the world. The UN-backed definition of preparedness was adopted in 2017 in Japan, a country highly exposed to natural hazards, under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Through national resilience, the country aims to prevent human loss by any means, avoid fatal damage to important functions for maintaining administration as well as social and economic systems, mitigate damage to private property and public facilities, and achieve swift recovery and reconstruction.
The COVID-19 pandemic made Japan an early mover in the implementation of economic security policies, including reducing the dependence of its supply chains on China. Japan appointed the world’s first minister for economic security and adopted legislation to protect the country from coercion by others through economic dependency. Japan’s initiatives also made it a leader in global green supply chains. The adoption of three main documents in December 2022 helped Japan reshape its approach to national security and defence and become better equipped to face the current complex geopolitical environment.
In March 2025, the European Commission launched the preparedness union strategy. The EU and Japan are increasing cooperation in several aspects related to preparedness and resilience, including in economic security, cybersecurity and foreign information manipulation.
Read the complete briefing on ‘Japan’s preparedness strategies: Lessons for the EU‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.
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