RT.com
07 Dec 2021, 04:12 GMT+10
Tokyo is looking for ways to boost its defense posture, including getting the ability to strike ?enemy bases,? the country's PM has said, signaling a potential formal shift from the nation's post-WWII pacifist stance.
The hawkish remarks were delivered by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday, as he addressed parliament during the opening of an extraordinary session, convened to debate additional spending to tackle the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"In order to safeguard the people's lives and livelihood, we'll examine all the options including capability to attack enemy bases ... and strengthen our defense posture fundamentally with a sense of speed," Kishida said.
The PM produced a similar statement last week, when he attended a review of a Self-Defense Forces (SDF) base and even rode a tank during the event. Getting the attack capability to target "enemy bases" may be needed since Tokyo "cannot overlook [North Korea's] recent development and improvement of new technologies such as hypersonic glide weapons and missiles with irregular orbits," the official said back then.
China's "unilateral attempts to change the status quo" as well as its military buildup made "without sufficient transparency" are concerning Tokyo as well, he added.
Obtaining an overseas strike capability has been debated in Japan for years, but it is likely to contradict the country's standing constitution, which was designed after the defeat of militarist Japan during WWII.
Article 9 of the constitution stipulates that "the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation," as well as refuse to use force or threat in the international field.
In line with this pacifist stance, the country is allowed to only maintain a self-defense force of limited capabilities, used for homeland defense. In reality, however, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces have already grown into a full-fledged military, with all the main branches, packed with modern hardware, present. The country has nearly 250,000 active-duty soldiers, as well as a vast fleet of combat aircraft and naval vessels.
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Japan Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Japan Herald.
More InformationWASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. will participate in a joint military exercise in mid-October with India, less than 62 miles from ...
SEOUL, South Korea: South Korea has launched a domestically manufactured lunar orbiter that took off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space ...
YANGON, Myanmar - Honeys Holdings, a Japanese clothing retailer that manufactures much of its product line in Myanmar, has decided ...
SANYA, China: Following a Covid lockdown, some 80,000 tourists cannot leave the southern Chinese beach resort of Sanya. The restrictions ...
SANTA BARBARA, California - Australian singing sensation and actress Olivia Newtown-John has died at the age of 73."Dame Olivia Newton-John ...
SOLOMON ISLANDS: In a move that opponents said is aimed at controlling and censoring the media, the government of the ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S.Department of Justice is reportedly preparing to sue Google as soon as next month, claiming that the ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Japan surged on Friday as investors and traders returned to their desks after a ...
LONDON, England: A survey conducted by YouGov and consultancy Cebr reported that UK consumer confidence slowly rose in July, after ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has stated that the Switzerland Ambassador to Bangladesh Nathalie Chuard's claims that ...
NEW YORK, New York - Stocks closed mixed the world over Thursday as investors struggled to get a clear picture ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: In another frustrating day for U.S. travelers, on the morning of August 9, 153 flights ...