The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal. TOKYO (AP) — Japan plans its
The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
TOKYO (AP) — Japan plans its first aircraft carrier and big increases in defense spending and weapons capability in the coming years, according to new defense guidelines approved Tuesday that cite the need to counter potential threats from North Korea and China and other vulnerabilities.
The guidelines approved at a meeting of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet call for refitting an existing helicopter carrier into a ship that can deploy 42 expensive, U. S.-made F-35B stealth fighters capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings. Japan plans to buy 147 F-35s over the next decade.
The guidelines would replace the current defense plan halfway through and underscore Abe’s push to expand Japan’s military role and capability to make it “a normal country” in Abe’s words. He has long wanted to revise Japan’s U. S.-drafted constitution that renounces war and has already broadened the concept of self-defense to allow Japanese personnel to defend allied military forces as Japan increasingly works alongside American troops.
Defense officials say Japan needs higher deterrence and increased missile defense and fighter capability to cope with threats from North Korea and China and other changes in the region’s security environment. The new guidelines say Japan needs to be well-prepared and to show it can withstand threats, noting the archipelago is prone to natural disasters and its coastline is dotted with vulnerable nuclear power plants.
