>Remilitarization in Japan ? The only thing Japan needs right now is the right
>(and the means) to project it's armed forces outside the archipelago. Somebody
>correct me but I think the budget of the armed forces in Japan is the second
>in the world (???)
I believe that Japan's armed forces are the second most sophisticated military machine in the world. While the Center for Defense Information says Japan takes third place in terms of military budget, much of Russia's military hardware must be by now antiquated & ill maintained, with its troops poorly paid & demoralized in the war with Chechen separatists:
***** FACT SHEET Prepared by the Center for Defense Information Ph: (202) 332-0600/Fax: (202) 462-4559
By Christopher Hellman, Senior Analyst
February 7, 2000
Last of the Big Time Spenders:
U.S. Military Budget Still the World's Largest, and Growing
Selected Countries Military Budget United States $305.4 Billion Russia* $55.0 Japan $41.1 China* $37.5 United Kingdom $34.6 France $29.5 Germany $24.7 Saudi Arabia $18.4 Italy $16.2 South Korea $11.6 Taiwan $10.7 India $10.7 Brazil $10.3 Turkey $8.9 Australia $7.2 Netherlands $7.0 Israel $6.7 Canada $6.7 Spain $6.0 Iran $5.7 Greece $3.8 Poland $3.2 Norway $3.2 Kuwait $3.0 Syria $2.9 Pakistan $2.7 Denmark $2.6 Belgium $2.5 Egypt $2.2 Portugal $1.6 Iraq $1.4 Libya $1.3 North Korea $1.3 Yugoslavia $1.3 Czech Republic $1.2 Vietnam $0.9 Cuba* $0.8 Hungary $0.7 Sudan $0.4
Figures are for latest year available, usually 1999. Expenditures are used in a few cases where official budgets are significantly lower than actual spending.
* 1998 Funding
Table prepared by Center for Defense Information. Sources: International Institute for Strategic Studies, Department of Defense
"For 45 years of the Cold War we were in an arms race with the Soviet Union. Now it appears we're in an arms race with ourselves."
Admiral Eugene Carroll, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.) Deputy Director Center for Defense Information
<http://www.cdi.org/issues/wme/spendersFY01.html> *****
Yoshie