Government Japan this week it will announce the biggest defense policy overhaul in years. The major overhaul will include spending increases, re-establishment of military command, and procurement of new missiles to counter threats China.
As reported AFP extensionon Wednesday (12/14/2022), the policy review, to be outlined in three defense and security documents as soon as Friday (12/16) this week, will reshape the defense landscape in a country whose postwar constitution has no not even officially recognize the military.
“Fundamentally strengthening our defense capabilities is the most pressing challenge in this severe security environment,” said the Prime Minister (PM) Fumio Kishida in a statement over the weekend.
“We will immediately scale up our defense capabilities for the next five years,” he said.
The change comes as a result of Tokyo’s concerns about China’s growing military might and regional position, as well as a host of other threats ranging from missile launches North Korea (North Korea) e Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Key among the new policies is a promise to increase spending to up to two percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027, bringing Japan on par with other members of the NATO alliance.
This would mark a significant increase over historical spending of around 1%, and has sparked criticism of how it is being funded. The money will fund projects that include acquiring what Japan calls a “counterattack capability” — the ability to attack the country’s threatening launch sites, even as a deterrent.
Japan has previously avoided acquiring such a capability, with disputes over whether it would violate a constitution that limits self-defense.
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