TOKYO: Japan on Friday unveiled its largest military reinforcement since World War II with a $320 billion plan that will buy missiles capable of hitting China and prepare it for protracted conflict, as regional tensions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stoke fears of war.
It is “my response to the various security challenges we face”, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, describing Japan and its people as being at a “turning point in history”.
His government fears that Russia has set a precedent that will encourage China to attack Taiwan, threatening nearby Japanese islands, disrupting supplies of advanced semiconductors and putting a potential stranglehold on the sea lanes that supply West Asian Oil. “It sets a new course for Japan.
If properly executed, the Self-Defense Forces will be a truly effective, world-class force,” said Yoji Koda, a former Maritime Self-Defense Force admiral, who commanded Japan’s fleet in 2008.
In the vast five-year plan, once unthinkable in pacifist Japan, the government said it would also stock spare parts and other ammunition, increase transport capacity and develop cyber warfare capabilities. In its post-war constitution, drafted by the Americans, Japan renounced the right to wage war and the means to do so.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a serious violation of laws that prohibit the use of force and has shaken the foundations of the international order,” the strategic document said. “The strategic challenge posed by China is the greatest Japan has ever faced,” he added, also noting that Beijing had not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control.
A separate national security strategy document, citing China, Russia and North Korea, promised close cooperation with the United States and other like-minded countries to deter threats to the established international order .
“The Prime Minister makes a clear and unambiguous strategic statement on Japan’s role as a security provider in the Indo-Pacific,” US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. “He put a capital ‘D’ next to Japan’s deterrence,” he added.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday she expected greater defense cooperation with Japan.
China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The war in Ukraine showed us the need to be able to sustain a fight, and that’s something Japan was not prepared for until now,” said Toshimichi Nagaiwa, a retired army general. ‘Air Self-Defense Force. “Japan are off to a late start, it’s like we’re 200m behind in a 400m sprint.”
Chinese defense spending surpassed that of Japan at the turn of the century and now has a military budget more than four times larger. Too little ammunition and a lack of spare parts to ground planes and put other equipment out of service are the most immediate issues Japan needs to address, sources said.
Kishida’s plan will double defense spending to about 2% of GDP over five years, surpassing the self-imposed 1% spending limit that has been in place since 1976. It will increase the Defense Ministry’s budget to about a tenth of all government spending at current levels, and will make Japan the third largest military spender in the world after the United States and China, based on current budgets.
This madness will provide work for Japanese military equipment manufacturers such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which is expected to lead the development of three of the longer-range missiles that will be part of the new missile force. Foreign companies will also benefit.
It is “my response to the various security challenges we face”, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, describing Japan and its people as being at a “turning point in history”.
His government fears that Russia has set a precedent that will encourage China to attack Taiwan, threatening nearby Japanese islands, disrupting supplies of advanced semiconductors and putting a potential stranglehold on the sea lanes that supply West Asian Oil. “It sets a new course for Japan.
If properly executed, the Self-Defense Forces will be a truly effective, world-class force,” said Yoji Koda, a former Maritime Self-Defense Force admiral, who commanded Japan’s fleet in 2008.
In the vast five-year plan, once unthinkable in pacifist Japan, the government said it would also stock spare parts and other ammunition, increase transport capacity and develop cyber warfare capabilities. In its post-war constitution, drafted by the Americans, Japan renounced the right to wage war and the means to do so.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a serious violation of laws that prohibit the use of force and has shaken the foundations of the international order,” the strategic document said. “The strategic challenge posed by China is the greatest Japan has ever faced,” he added, also noting that Beijing had not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control.
A separate national security strategy document, citing China, Russia and North Korea, promised close cooperation with the United States and other like-minded countries to deter threats to the established international order .
“The Prime Minister makes a clear and unambiguous strategic statement on Japan’s role as a security provider in the Indo-Pacific,” US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. “He put a capital ‘D’ next to Japan’s deterrence,” he added.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday she expected greater defense cooperation with Japan.
China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The war in Ukraine showed us the need to be able to sustain a fight, and that’s something Japan was not prepared for until now,” said Toshimichi Nagaiwa, a retired army general. ‘Air Self-Defense Force. “Japan are off to a late start, it’s like we’re 200m behind in a 400m sprint.”
Chinese defense spending surpassed that of Japan at the turn of the century and now has a military budget more than four times larger. Too little ammunition and a lack of spare parts to ground planes and put other equipment out of service are the most immediate issues Japan needs to address, sources said.
Kishida’s plan will double defense spending to about 2% of GDP over five years, surpassing the self-imposed 1% spending limit that has been in place since 1976. It will increase the Defense Ministry’s budget to about a tenth of all government spending at current levels, and will make Japan the third largest military spender in the world after the United States and China, based on current budgets.
This madness will provide work for Japanese military equipment manufacturers such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which is expected to lead the development of three of the longer-range missiles that will be part of the new missile force. Foreign companies will also benefit.
