Japan to Build a More Powerful Military, Citing China as Its No. 1 Menace
Wall Street JournalDec 16, 2022
The US and Japan announced on Wednesday a significant strengthening of their military relationship, which includes the formation of a US Marine unit on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa designed for intelligence gathering, surveillance, and the ability to fire anti-ship missiles.
Both Japan and the US reportedly perceive a greater military threat from China, North Korea, and Russia — especially in light of recent declarations of stronger ties between those three nations.
Japan, which holds the largest permanent contingent of US forces overseas, can no longer solely rely on US support — a fact that this latest plan acknowledges. The new strategy fortifies the US and Japan's vigor and will reshape their ability to promote peace and protect the Indo-Pacific region as China attempts to aggressively exert its influence.
Japan is groundlessly discrediting China. By adopting this new policy, Japan is putting itself on a more offensive footing, and deviating from its commitment to China-Japan relations and the common understanding between the two countries. Hyping up the so-called "China threat" to find an excuse for its military build-up and alignment with the West is doomed to fail.
There is a 70% chance that Japan Self-Defense Forces will have tested a Tomahawk missile by mid-2027, according to the Metaculus Prediction Community.