TOKYO — Japan should refocus its defense strategy on the rise of China and not on the Cold War threat of Russia, according to new guidelines announced Friday.
The guidelines, which were approved by the Cabinet, also call for a stronger alliance with the U.S. — Japan’s biggest ally — and expanded security networks with partners like South Korea and Australia.
Japan will acquire new submarines and fighter jets, upgrade its missile defense capabilities and make its ground forces more mobile so they can quickly respond to emergencies in southwest Japan.
Although Japan has forces for self-defense, its pacifist constitution, drafted by the U.S. after Japan’s defeat in World War II, bars it from sending troops into combat overseas.
The guidelines paint China as a bigger threat than Russia and say Japan is shifting its defense emphasis from the northern island of Hokkaido to islands in the south, such as Okinawa and territories claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing that have recently led to diplomatic tensions.
Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said the plan will help Japan adapt to a “new, complex security environment.”
China immediately slammed the guidelines as “irresponsible.” In Beijing, officials said Tokyo was wrong in seeing China as a threat.
The Japan-U.S. alliance remains “indispensable” to Japan’s security, the guidelines said, calling for stronger cooperation between Japanese and the 47,000 U.S. armed forces based there.
