At an international fleet review on Sunday, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that his nation urgently needs to improve its military capabilities as security risks grow, including dangers from North Korea’s nuclear and missile development and Russia’s conflict on Ukraine.
Participating in the review were 18 warships from 12 nations, including the US, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea. The US and France also contributed warplanes.
South Korea joined for the first time in seven years as the most recent indication of thawing relations between Tokyo and Seoul following Japan’s atrocities during World War II.
Mr. Kishida noted North Korea’s increased missile firings, including one that flew over Japan last month, and growing concern about the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Asia, saying “the security environment in the East and South China seas, especially around Japan, is increasingly becoming more severe.”
Mr. Kishida stressed the need of avoiding conflicts and pursuing dialogue while also stressing the need to be ready for threats to peace and stability. He reaffirmed his promise to substantially improve Japan’s military prowess within five years.
According to Mr. Kishida, Japan must build more warships immediately, enhance its anti-missile defences, and enhance military working conditions.
“We have no time to waste,” Mr. Kishida said after his review aboard the JS Izumo, where naval officers from the participating countries gathered to review a demonstration of the frigates, submarines, supply ships and warplanes in Sagami Bay southwest of Tokyo.
The 248-meter-long Izumo has been retrofitted so that it can carry F-35Bs, stealth fighters capable of short take-offs and vertical landings, as Japan increasingly works side-by-side with the U.S. military.
According to Mr. Kishida, Japan would continue to bolster the alliance’s deterrent and response capabilities.
Later on Sunday, Mr. Kishida and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel were scheduled to visit the USS Ronald Reagan off the U.S. naval port at Yokosuka, which is the only aircraft carrier operated by the U.S. Navy that is headquartered outside of the continental United States.
Mr. Emanuel emphasised the value of collaboration between American friends. “Every time we engage in activities, whether in a bilateral, trilateral, or other form of exercise that also involves others, China is forced to back off because they realise that the one thing America has in excess is the one thing they lack, and we work hard at it.”
The U.S. military, which had just finished a joint exercise with South Korea that prompted missile barrages and other warnings from North Korea, is set to hold major drills with Japan later this month in southwestern Japan. Australia, Canada and Britain will join part of the drills, while France, India, New Zealand, the Philippines and South Korea are expected to take part as observers.
Japan has steadily stepped up its international defense role and military spending over the past decade, and plans to double its military budget in the next five to 10 years to about 2% of its GDP, citing a NATO standard, amid threats from North Korea and China’s growing assertiveness.
By building artificial islands with military facilities and airports, China has strengthened its claims over almost the entire South China Sea. Beijing also asserts sovereignty over a number of Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea and has increased military pressure on Taiwan, which it maintains is an integral part of China and should be incorporated by force, if necessary.
The government of Mr. Kishida is now revising its national security policy and medium- to long-term defence plans, and it is considering sanctioning the deployment of preemptive strikes as a significant departure from Japan’s postwar ideal of self-defence alone. Preemptive strikes, according to critics, might violate Japan’s pacifist constitution.
Apparently addressing concerns from Asian neighbors, Mr. Kishida said Japan will stick to its postwar pledge as a “pacifist nation” and continue to explain its security policy to gain understanding while asking other countries to do the same.
Japanese aggression against many of its neighbours, including South Korea, throughout the first half of the 20th century made any move by Japan to enhance its military budget and involvement potentially contentious.
Seven years after Japan was demilitarised following its loss in World War II, the Maritime Self-Defense Force was established, and this Sunday’s worldwide fleet review commemorates that event on its 70th anniversary. Later on Sunday and Monday, the naval ships and warplanes were scheduled to take part in combined drills.
In 20 years, Japan had not previously hosted an international fleet assessment. Officers from nearly 30 countries attended the two-day Western Pacific Naval Symposium in Yokohama, which began on Monday, although China did not discuss maritime security.