Japan to revamp defence, supply chains amid rising Chinese threat

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned of increasing Chinese “coercion” in her first post-election address to parliament, outlining plans to overhaul Japan’s defence strategy, relax restrictions on military exports, and strengthen critical supply chains, Reuters reports.

Fresh from turning a fragile lower house majority into a landslide victory this month, Takaichi used her enhanced political mandate—her ruling coalition now controls over two-thirds of seats—to push a broad security and economic agenda aimed at countering what she described as mounting threats from China and its regional partners.

“Japan faces its most severe and complex security environment since World War Two,” Takaichi told lawmakers, highlighting China’s expanding military activity, Beijing’s closer security ties with Russia, and North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile capabilities.

The prime minister said the government would revise Japan’s three core security documents this year to produce a new defence strategy and accelerate a review of military export rules to expand overseas sales and bolster domestic defence firms. A policy panel of her Liberal Democratic Party recommended scrapping limits on exports to non-lethal equipment, such as body armour, a move that could significantly broaden the range of Japanese defence equipment sold abroad.

“China has intensified its attempts to unilaterally change the status quo through force or coercion in the East China Sea and South China Sea,” she added, signaling a firm stance on territorial disputes.

Takaichi has accelerated a military build-up launched in 2023, aiming to double Japan’s defence spending to 2% of GDP by the end of March, making it one of the world’s largest military spenders despite the country’s pacifist constitution. She also announced plans to establish a national intelligence council, chaired by her, to consolidate information from multiple agencies, including police and the defence ministry—a significant step for a country lacking domestic intelligence services comparable to the US Central Intelligence Agency or Britain’s MI5.

Beyond security, Takaichi proposed creating a Japanese equivalent of the US Committee on Foreign Investment to screen overseas investment in sensitive sectors and review rules governing foreign land purchases. She also pledged to reduce reliance on “specific countries” by fortifying supply chains and collaborating with allies to secure critical materials, including rare earths, in remote regions such as Minamitori Island.

On energy policy, she promised to expedite the restart of reactors idled since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

“A nation that does not take on challenges has no future,” Takaichi concluded. “Politics that only seeks to protect cannot inspire hope.”

By Vafa Guliyeva