A senior Japanese national security adviser has emphasized that an "epic change" is underway in the country's security strategy.

The Secretary General of Japan's National Security Secretariat, Akiba Takeo, submitted an opinion to the Washington Post to coincide with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's visit to Washington this week. The article was published on Sunday.

It says: "Japan has refrained from promoting arms exports, regardless of the destination, since the 1970s. However, this policy has proved increasingly unsuitable as security challenges have intensified. Japan has opened a way to enable the transfer of a wider variety of defense equipment, including fighter jets co-developed with other countries."

With countries such as Russia, China and North Korea in mind, Akiba wrote, "Our goal is to strengthen deterrence and make room for genuine dialogues with countries and regions, including authoritarian regimes."

Akiba told NHK that he wanted to tell the average US citizen that Japan's shift in security strategy is to strengthen international order based on the rule of law.