TOKYO (Parliament Politics Magazine ) – In a yearly assessment released as Tokyo weighs sharply raising military spending, Japan’s defence ministry expressed alarm over new Russian threats and increased concerns about Taiwan.
The report contains a section on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which it claims runs the risk of implying that using force to change the status quo unilaterally is acceptable.
A concern was raised that Russia could further expand and deepen partnerships with China, according to the paper, which was released on Friday. It examines the global security environment and discusses specific dangers to Japan.
It also warns that Moscow may depend more on its nuclear arsenal as a deterrent, which would lead to an increase in activity near Japan, where Russia’s nuclear submarines are active routinely.
Japan has supported the sanctions on Moscow initiated by the European Union and the US and has noticed a rise in Russian military activity near its territory.
In May, following a summit of the US-led Quad grouping in Tokyo, Chinese and Russian military jets flew together over the vicinity of Japan.
Taiwan receives a good space in the defence paper as well. It provides the most thorough review of the island’s security condition to date and mentions that Taiwan has been bolstering its self-defence operations since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The publication of this year’s paper coincides with rising predictions that Japan will dramatically increase its defence budget.
Japan continues to have the lowest military expenditure to GDP ratio among the Group of Seven countries, despite the fact that the defence budget has been increasing for years.
Although experts think it may be challenging to reach that level quickly, Kishida has publicly advocated increasing spending, and his ruling party has a long-term aim of a defence budget equivalent to 2% of GDP.
The post-war constitution of Japan does not officially recognise its military, and spending is restricted to supporting minimally defensive capabilities.
According to the report, China is a “strong security concern,” and Beijing’s risk “is intensifying in recent years.”
It also reiterates that North Korea continues to pose “grave and imminent threats,” adding that these threats are “intensifying.”
