TOKYO, Dec 17 (straitstimes.com) - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida justified the drastic overhaul of Japan’s security policy on Friday as necessary, given that tabletop exercises have shown current defences to be woefully inadequate to stave off an attack.
The candid admission, it was hoped, will be grounds for what represents a drastic pivot from Japan’s post-war pacifism.
By fiscal 2027, Japan will be the world’s third-largest military spender based on current budgets. It will, among other things, boast “counterstrike capabilities” and have an “active cyber defence”.
Conservative newspapers like the Sankei Shimbun – which labelled Japan’s neighbours China, North Korea and Russia as “tyrannical” – and the Yomiuri Shimbun applauded the plan.
But liberal newspapers like Asahi Shimbun, in an editorial, said the defence-oriented principle has “effectively been eviscerated”, warning that it may be a slippery slope towards “unrestrained military build-up”.
Observers also say that while these steps are better late than never, they inevitably raise questions: Can Japan continue to claim it is “not a military superpower”? How will this shape its role as a “shield” to the United States’ “spear” within their security alliance?
How will Japan respond to an inevitable arms race that its moves will catalyse in the region? And, crucially, how will Japan foot the bill? ...continue reading
