TOKYO (Realist English). Japan intends to invest $ 320 billion for military needs in preparation for a prolonged international conflict, Al Jazeera reports.
The land of the rising sun will be armed with missiles capable of striking China.
“The possibility of a counterattack will be essential to deter the attack,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.
The Japanese government is concerned that Russia has set a precedent in the Ukraine that will allegedly encourage China to attack Taiwan, threatening nearby Japanese islands, as well as disrupting the supply of advanced semiconductors and seizing the sea routes through which Middle Eastern oil is supplied.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a serious violation of the laws prohibiting the use of force, shaking the foundations of the international order… The strategic challenge posed by China is the biggest challenge Japan has ever faced,” the updated national security strategy says.
Kishida’s plan calls for doubling defense spending to about 2% of GDP over the next five years, which is in line with the norm set for NATO member countries. The share of the Ministry of Defense will increase to about one tenth of all government spending. Since the 1960s, Tokyo has independently limited military spending to 1% of GDP.
“The security environment around Japan is as harsh and complex as ever since the end of [World War II]. We will fundamentally strengthen the defense potential as the last guarantee of our national security,” the authors of the strategy write. Japan is becoming the third country in the world by the largest military budget, second only to the United States and China.
Tokyo plans to spend 43 trillion yen ($313 billion) over the next five years. According to opinion polls, 70% of respondents support the militarization of Japan and the growth of defense spending.
