PM: Japan to strengthen defence, enhance cooperation with US in 2025

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said that this year, Japan plans to focus on strengthening its defence capabilities and expanding cooperation with the US.

"The most important thing is the defence capabilities of our country, deterrence forces sufficient to ensure that no one will wage war against us," he said at a press conference dedicated to the New Year, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

He noted that Japan will enhance its capabilities and reinforce its alliance with the US. Ishiba also promised to deepen the network of partnerships in the region.

During his election campaign, Ishiba advocated for strengthening Japan's defence capabilities, creating an "Asian NATO" and establishing a collective security system in the region. In an article for the Hudson Institute, Ishiba proposed discussing the possibility of deploying the US nuclear weapons in Asia and the idea of joint ownership of such weapons. The concept of an "Asian NATO" is currently under official discussion within Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), with a special intra-party committee established for this purpose, chaired by former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera.  

On December 16, 2022, the Japanese government approved a new national security strategy. It affirms Japan's right to launch counterstrikes against targets on the territory of a potential adversary. However, the document emphasises that preventive strikes are not permitted. The strategy also envisions a nearly twofold increase in military spending by 2027, reaching two per cent of GDP. To acquire the capability for retaliatory strikes, Japan plans to extend the range of its Type-12 missiles, develop its own hypersonic weapons, and purchase the US Tomahawk cruise missiles.

By Naila Huseynova