Japan Press Weekly

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2013 January 9 - 15 TOP3 [SDF]

Abe to revise security policy to beef up Japan’s military capability

The Liberal Democratic Party-led government has decided to draw up new national defense guidelines for military buildup within the year, replacing the current guidelines calling for restrained spending on the military adopted by the Kan Cabinet of the Democratic Party of Japan in 2010.

The Abe Cabinet will freeze the 2010 National Defense Program Guidelines and the mid-term defense program for the FY2011-2015 before drafting the FY2013 budget.

Following the government decision, the Defense Ministry plans to request a defense budget of 4.8 trillion yen, up 100 billion yen from the previous year, for the next fiscal year by the end of the month. The ministry also calls for an increase in the number of personnel of the Japan Self-Defense Forces of 18,000.

Since 2002, consecutive governments have gradually reduced military spending while maintaining a spending level of 5 trillion yen. The Abe administration, however, intends to raise the military expenditure, citing the military build-up by neighboring countries such as China and Russia as reasons to justify the increase.

If Japan moves to use more tax money for national defense and security on the grounds that neighboring nations are expanding their military capability, it could escalate the arms race in Northeast Asia. Furthermore, such a move would give an excuse to North Korea to develop nuclear missiles, discourage any diplomatic settlement of the dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands, and thus, harm Japan’s national interests.