Japan is strengthening its economy and military to play a responsible international role, Japanese Minister of Defense Itsunori Onodera said yesterday, seeking to defuse suspicion of neighbors scarred by its attacks and occupations last century.
Japan, a US ally that is in dispute with China over maritime territory and within range of North Korean missiles, “caused tremendous damage and suffering” in the past, but wants to look to the future by promoting cooperation, he said.
“A strong Japan will play a responsible role in the area of regional security and exercise strong leadership as expected by the international community,” Onodera said at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual regional security forum in Singapore.
To meet those goals, Japan has raised its defense budget in this fiscal year for the first time in 11 years and the size of its military forces for the first time in eight years, he said. It is also reviewing its defense policy and is in the process of creating a national security council.
“Some say Japan is tilting toward the right because of these initiatives. Moreover, we sometimes hear criticism that Japan is abandoning its identity as a pacifist nation and is attempting to challenge the existing international order,” Onodera said.
“These views are total misperceptions,” he said. “These efforts are crucial in the pursuit of our national interest, which is to maintain and strengthen international order based on fundamental values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law.”
Asked whether Japan has plans to develop nuclear weapons, Onodera said: “We don’t think of doing that at all and we have three non-nuclear principles which we adhere to.”
The US military presence in Asia is “indispensable” to stability and Tokyo welcomes the “pivot” in Washington’s attention to the fast-growing region, he said, adding that Japan’s relations with China were “extremely important.”
Stressing the need for dialogue, he said Japan believed in freedom of navigation and supported the efforts of the 10-member ASEAN to establish a code of conduct to reduce tension with China over the South China Sea.
“Given the increasingly difficult security environment, the Japanese government is now undertaking a review of the current national defense program guidelines, which we hope to complete by the end of 2013,” Onodera said.
“The aim of the review is to maintain a defense posture that can firmly defend our territorial land, water and air space by improving the readiness of the [Japanese] Self Defense Forces to further strengthen the US alliance and to contribute more to the improvement of the international security environment.”
The proposed national security council is designed to better respond to “unforeseen emergencies” and form long-term security and foreign policies, he said.
A bill to establish the council is to go to Japan’s parliament this month.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS