[lbo-talk] Japan military undergoing change: Report

[uvj at vsnl.com]

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Japan military undergoing change: Report
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Japan+military+undergoing+change%3A+Report&id=90880

Tuesday, August 1, 2006 (Tokyo):

According to a government report, Japan's military is undergoing a major
transformation to give it more government clout and a bigger role in
international peacekeeping while aligning it more closely with US forces.

The annual report by Japan's Defense Agency also stressed that Tokyo is
under increasing pressure to defend itself from possible attack by North
Korean ballistic missiles.

The report, while careful not to call China a threat, urged Beijing to
provide more information of its military expenditures to ease tensions in
the region.

This year's report devotes a full chapter to the realignment of the roughly
50,000 US troops in Japan and efforts to meld the Japanese and US forces
into a more effective, more closely coordinated force.

The realignment, the result of years of negotiations, involves a
streamlining of the US military in Japan, including the transfer of some
8,000 US Marines off the southern island of Okinawa to the US territory of
Guam.

Destabilizing factor

It also entails closer coordination on intelligence-gathering and in
ballistic missile defense, a major concern for Japan.

The report repeatedly cites North Korea's development of long-range missiles
and nuclear weapons as a destabilizing factor in the region.

It strongly condemned North Korea's test-firing of seven missiles into the
Sea of Japan on July 4.

The report also criticized Pyongyang for pouring money into military
expenditures "while it is suffering severe economic difficulties and must
rely on international aid for food."

"These activities of North Korea escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula
and are a serious source of concern not only for our nation but for all of
east Asia," the report said.

China's navy

The 429-page report also expressed concern over the strengthening of China's
military, stating that its navy has become especially active.

Relations between Japan and China have been tense in recent months in part
because of a dispute over potential energy reserves in waters claimed by
both nations.

While Japan is not significantly increasing expenditures, it is overhauling
its military in other ways.

Japan currently spends about 4.8 trillion yen (US$43 billion) on defense
each year, putting it behind the United States, Russia, China and Britain.
It has a standing army of about 150,000, and its air force and navy are
among the most powerful in Asia.

With the backing of Washington, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has
spearheaded efforts to "normalize" Japan's so-called "Self-Defense Forces"
by bringing them out from under the shadow of the country's militarist past
and expand their role in international humanitarian operations. (AP)