Because a planet, allegedly adversely affected by “human caused” global warming teetering on the brink of extinction number whatever, can never have enough war and environmental destruction? Am I right?
Al jazeera
Japan has said it would begin a once-unthinkable $320bn military build-up that would arm it with missiles capable of striking China and ready it for a sustained conflict as regional tensions and Russia’s Ukraine invasion stoke war fears.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government worries 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 sea lanes that supply Middle East oil.
In its sweeping five-year plan and revamped national security strategy, the government said on Friday it would also stockpile spare parts and other munitions, reinforce logistics, develop cyber-warfare capabilities, and cooperate more closely with the United States and other like-minded nations to
deter threats to the established international order.
Third-biggest military spender
Unthinkable under past administrations, the rapid arming of Japan, which already hosts US forces, including a carrier strike group and a Marine expeditionary force, has the backing of most voters, according to opinion polls. Some surveys put support as high as 70 percent of voters.
Kishida’s plan will double defence outlays to about 2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) over the next five years, and increase the defence ministry’s share to about one-tenth of all public spending.
It will also make Japan the world’s third-biggest military spender after the US and China, based on current budgets.
The five-year spending roadmap did not come with a detailed plan for how Kishida’s administration would pay for it, as ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers continue to discuss whether to raise taxes or borrow money.
‘Exclusively defence oriented’
The money will fund projects including the acquisition of what Japan calls “counterstrike capacity” – the ability to hit launch sites that threaten the country.
The documents warn that Japan’s current missile interception systems are no longer sufficient and a “counterstrike capacity is necessary”.
Still, in a nod to the sensitivity of the issue, the documents rule out preemptive strikes, and insist Japan is committed to “an exclusively defence-oriented policy”.
Its language on relations with both China and Russia has hardened significantly.
The strategy document previously said Japan was seeking a “mutually beneficial strategic partnership” with Beijing, a phrase that has disappeared from this iteration.
3 replies on ““Pacifist” Japan Unveils Unprecedented Military Build Up”
Kind of a paradox ain’t it. To protect yourself you need to arm yourself quite sufficiently.
But at the same time, since you have all those arms it would be a waste to just let it rot away.
Personally Japan needs a army which isn’t bound to American strings. If they can succeed with that, than as far as I know its a good thing.
Hey Kaz
I get where your coming from but unfortunately…. Japan is bound to American strings. Undoubtedly the US war machine will make massive profits.
I’m also getting a ‘sacrificial lamb’ feeling about this whole thing.
Same as Ukraine.
Along with the threat of wider war…
I get where you are coming from, but unlike Ukraine.
Japan has quite a big memory (its own history). And unlike Germany it hasn’t been guilt shamed to death.
I like to believe that Japan is smarter than being an american pawn. But you know, the Vaccine rollout proved me wrong. So we shall see.
But one thing I observe I do observe from Japan is. Is that the leadership there really keeps their population in the dark when it comes to these level of politics.