With an uneasy eye on the ominous activity by its neighbors, Japan has revealed the largest military buildup since the Second World War.
The island nation is planning to spend $320 million over the next five years as it seeks to counter the growing threat of Chinese expansion in the region.
According to Reuters, this unprecedented shakeup of Japanese defense policy will make the country the third-largest military spender in the world, behind the U.S. and China.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his government have warned that Japan is at a “turning point in history” and must rise to answer the “security challenges that we face.”
Japan’s constitution, written with American influence in the wake of World War II, forbade Japan from having a military capable of anything other than self-defense.
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According to the Japan Times, the Japanese government has released a new National Security Strategy outlining its reasons for the buildup and its goals going forward.
“Looking at Japan’s surroundings, it is facing the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II,” the NSS stated.
Reuters quoted the report further: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a serious violation of laws that forbid the use of force and has shaken the foundations of the international order … The strategic challenge posed by China is the biggest Japan has ever faced.”
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The new strategic documents also mention North Korea as a “graver, more imminent threat than before,” the Times reported.
Retired Air Self-Defense Force general, Toshimichi Nagaiwa explained how the current war in Ukraine has influenced Japanese decision-making.
“The Ukraine war has shown us the necessity of being able to sustain a fight, and that is something Japan has not so far been prepared for.”
“Japan is making a late start, it is like we are 200 metres behind in a 400-metre sprint,” he added.
Japanese industrial companies like Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are expected to develop three new missile designs for Japan’s new…
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