By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) – Indicating more steps to strengthen Japan’s defense capacity, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday that the country “must break away from established past practices.”
“Japan is at a critical juncture, 77 years after the end of World War II,” Kishida told the nation’s parliament as it opened for a fresh 15-day session in the capital Tokyo.
“The country must break away from established past practices and create a society, economy and international orders that are suitable for a new era,” Kishida told the Diet, or Japanese parliament, as reported by public broadcaster NHK.
Japan last month adopted an updated version of its national security strategy, allowing its armed forces to acquire what it called “counterstrike capability.”
The updated three key security and defense documents allow Japan's armed forces to acquire counterstrike capability, which allows them to strike targets in enemy territory to deter attacks.
It also authorizes the government to allocate about 43 trillion yen (approximately $315 billion) for defense budgets over five years from fiscal 2023.
The new national security strategy views China as the "greatest strategic challenge," and calls North Korea a “graver, more imminent threat than before” and Russia a “serious security concern.”
Tokyo’s new strategy is seen as a step away from Japan’s war-renouncing constitution.
According to Tokyo-based Kyodo News, Kishida said his administration “will take measures to procure sufficient funds to attain its goal of almost doubling its annual defense spending to around 2% of gross domestic product over the next five years, on par with NATO members.”
He reiterated his “eagerness to establish constructive and stable relations with China and communicate closely with South Korea.”
- Declining birth rate
The premier said his government will prioritize policies aimed at facilitating child-rearing, which is “the most effective investment for the future.”
Kishida warned the nation of around 126 million people, also grappling with an aging population, was “on the brink of losing its social function due to its rapidly declining birthrate.”
He said births in Japan were estimated to be under 800,000 last year.
Vowing to reverse the country’s falling birth rate, the premier said his government will work to “create a children-first economy and society” with the Children and Families Agency, the new governmental body expected to be launched in April.