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Japan urged to adopt a broader military role
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| 12 July 2004 |
By Shinichi KiyotaniJDW Special Correspondent
Tokyo
Japan's 2004 Defence White Paper calls for the Japanese Self-Defence Force (JSDF) to be transformed from its current invasion defence posture to a "more functional force" better able to deal with a range of threats such as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.
Publication of the document coincided with the 50th anniversary of the re-establishment of Japan's armed forces after the Second World War. Since then the JSDF has been limited by the constitution to a defensive role and the question of a broader military role, such as the deployment of troops to Iraq, continues to provoke controversy.
Japan's defence budget for the current Fiscal Year, ¥4.9 trillion ($44.47 billion), ranks it as the third-largest military spender behind the US and the UK but the paper notes that if an accurate figure could be established for China it would exceed Japanese spending.
"China has been modernising its nuclear and missile forces as well as its naval and air forces. Careful deliberation should go into determining whether the objective of this modernisation exceeds the scope necessary for the defence of China, and future developments in this area merit special attention," says the paper.
It notes other threats in the region. "Taken together with its suspected nuclear weapons programme, North Korea's development and deployment of ballistic missiles constitute a destabilising factor for the international community as a whole and have generated intense anxiety," states the paper.
The White Paper says that the armed forces must be restructured to undertake "diversifying roles". A sweeping review of the armed forces is planned for completion before year-end.
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