As a resource-poor trading country surrounded by seas and characterized by a long coastline and numerous islands, maritime security is an issue of critical importance for Japan in maintaining its sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as in securing its maritime transportation routes. Postwar Japan returned to the international community following the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty as a nation with virtually no military capabilities. For this reason, it had no choice but to rely on the United States for its maritime security. Beginning in the 1970s, Japan responded to the continued buildup of the Soviet Far Eastern Fleet in Vladivostok by endeavoring to acquire capabilities for blockading the Tsushima Strait, the Tsugaru Strait, and the Soya Strait. The ability to control these key choke points was considered vital to restraining the activities of the Soviet fleet stationed in Vladivostok. At the same time, under the aegis of the doctrine of “defending sea lanes up to 1,000 nautical miles,” Japan acted to enhance its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities in the waters surrounding the Nansei and Ogasawara Islands in a move designed to ensure the arrival of US reinforcements. Japan’s commitment to controlling the three straits and the enhancement of its ISR capabilities around the Japanese archipelago succeeded in effectively containing the Soviet fleet within the Sea of Japan.
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