Japan defense plan to 'strengthen and modernize' US alliance
Japan pledged to increase security expenditure to two percent of GDP by 2027, reorganize its military command, and buy new missiles that can target distant enemy launch sites in its biggest defense shake-up in decades.
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A police officer stands guard on a street near a hotel in Tokyo, Japan. (REUTERS)
Following news on Friday that Japan will overhaul its defense policy, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, said the new policy will "strengthen and modernize" the country's military alliance with the United States.
"Japan's goal to significantly increase defense investments will... strengthen and modernize the US-Japan Alliance," Sullivan said on Friday.
Tokyo pledged to increase security expenditure to two percent of GDP by 2027, reorganize its military command, and buy new missiles that can target distant enemy launch sites in its biggest defense shake-up in decades.
On September 1, the Japanese Defense Ministry declared a record-high military budget request for 2023 of nearly 5.6 trillion yen ($41.4 billion). This sum only contains the costs that the ministry was prepared to disclose. According to experts and the media, the actually requested budget is 6.5 trillion yen. Japan's defense budget for 2022 was also at a then-record high of 5.4 trillion yen.
The move includes the purchase of as many as 500 US-made Tomahawk missiles.
The undisclosed portion of the budget also includes "standoff" missiles with a development budget of more than 30 billion yen - the most expensive item in this year's budget, as per media reports.
"Fundamentally strengthening our defense capabilities is the most urgent challenge in this severe security environment," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said last week.
On this issue, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the move showed "Japan's staunch commitment to upholding the international rules-based order and a free and open Indo-Pacific."
Tokyo is eyeing its biggest arms buildup since World War Two, intensifying tensions with China, while increasing its coordination with the West in the Asia Pacific region.
