Japan Can Play a Larger Security Role in Region Amid Uncertainties: SM Lee

Geopolitical tensions, US-China rivalry making security cooperation more important

- Yew Lun Tian

Japan can and should take on a larger security role in the region despite its history of aggression during World War II, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The importance of security cooperation with Japan has grown as the world enters uncharted waters: Regional geopolitical tensions and the US-China rivalry have intensified, while longstanding assumptions about defence alliances and nuclear non-proliferation are being questioned, he said.

"In such a world, I believe Japan can play a useful stabilising role, and contribute to the well-being not just of South-east Asia, but the wider Asia-Pacific," he said at the launch of a book on Singapore and Japan ties at the National Library Building on April 2.

Singapore and Japan will celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2026, but the relationship had a tragic beginning when Japan invaded Singapore during World War II, he said.

He recounted how his father, Singapore's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, had narrowly escaped being rounded up and shot during the Sook Ching operation in 1942, when the Japanese military massacred thousands of Chinese in Singapore.

"Had he not evaded arrest, I would not be here today. This is history that we cannot and should not forget," he told an audience which included Japanese diplomats and business leaders.

Every year on Feb 15, the day that Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942, Singapore marks Total Defence Day with a ceremony at the Civilian War Memorial, where the remains of many of the civilian victims are interred.