Japan’s $320bn military buildup is unprecedented

• Japan will undertake a $320bn military buildup.
• It would arm it with missiles capable of hitting China.
• Russia has set a precedent that may embolden China to strike Taiwan.

Japan will undertake a $320bn military buildup that would arm it with missiles capable of hitting China and prepare it for a sustained fight as regional tensions and Russia’s Ukraine incursion stir war worries.

The administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is concerned that Russia has set a precedent that may embolden China to strike Taiwan, threatening surrounding Japanese islands, interrupting semiconductor supplies, and strangling oil-supply sea lanes.

Post-WWII Japan’s constitution does not recognize the military and limited it to self-defense.

In its five-year plan and revamped national security strategy, the government said Friday it would stockpile spare parts and other munitions, strengthen logistics, develop cyber-warfare capabilities, and cooperate more closely with the U.S. and other like-minded nations to deter threats to the international order.

The national security brief claimed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine violated laws that restrict the use of force and shook the international order.

China is Japan’s biggest strategic challenge.

Polls show that the majority of people support the rapid arming of Japan, which already hosts US forces including a carrier strike group and a Marine expeditionary unit. Some polls show 70% voter support.

Kishida’s plan will double defense spending to 2% of GDP over five years and increase the defense ministry’s portion to 10% of public spending.

It will make Japan the world’s third-biggest military spender behind the US and China.

The five-year spending plan lacked a comprehensive plan for how Kishida’s administration would pay for it, as governing LDP members debate whether to hike taxes or borrow money.

The money will cover efforts like acquiring “counterstrike capacity” to hit threatening launch sites.

The documents warn that Japan’s present missile interception systems are insufficient and a “counterstrike capability” is needed.

While Japanese governments have long indicated that counterattacks to neutralize foreign attacks are constitutional, few want to secure the capability.

This has changed with China’s growing military power and North Korea’s record-setting missile launches, including over Japan.

In recognition of the issue’s sensitivity, the documents rule out preemptive strikes and declare Japan has “a strictly defensive posture.”

Its language has hardened toward China and Russia.

The paper previously indicated Japan wanted a “mutually advantageous strategic alliance” with Beijing.

Better communication and a “productive and solid partnership” are suggested.

China’s foreign ministry urged Japan to “reconsider its policy.”

“Japan disregards the facts, deviates from China and Japan’s shared understandings, and discredits China,” a ministry spokesman said.

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