The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, met this Friday (13.Jan.2023) with the US President, Joe Biden. At the meeting, officials discussed strengthening military cooperation. The conversation comes amid the new phase of Japan’s militarization, because of conflicts with China and North Korea. Here’s the full from the joint statement released by the White House (60 KB, in English).
In the text, the 2 countries say that the security alliance between them “never been so strong”. The leaders “reaffirmed that the alliance remains the foundation of peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific”they wrote.
Joe Biden spoke on his Twitter profile about the meeting and cited the trade agreement Indo-Pacific –of which Japan is a part.
“Today, I am welcoming the Prime Minister of Japan to the White House, a staunch ally in advancing peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and around the world. We will deepen our cooperation on everything from economics and critical technologies to climate change and security.”
According to the White House statement, the treaty “faces growing challenges. The document refers to North Korea’s threats of missile bombing and Japan’s problems with China. There is still the war in Ukraine.
In 2022, North Korea fired an unprecedented amount of missiles into Japanese territory, including a ballistic missile andn November – the 1st time in 5 years.
It is worth remembering that Japan is also in conflict with China because of Chinese attacks on Taiwan. Despite not specifying, the Japanese government is afraid of possible attacks, since some islands in the southwest of the country are only 160 kilometers away. in Taiwan.
At Thursday (12.jan.2023), the secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd J. Austin, and the Japanese Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu gathered at the Pentagon.
militarization of japan
After the dropping of the atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the World War II (1939-1945), Japan officially surrendered and was subjected to US military domination. In 1947, still under Allied occupation, a new Constitution came into force in Japan. In Article 9 of the document, the country renounces its right to declare war and have a conventional army.
On December 16, 2022, Japan announced that it will double its military spending over the next 5 years, citing threats made by China and North Korea to justify the decision.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said Japan’s defense budget would be 2% of GDP by 2027. The 2% figure coincides with a long-term target set by Japan’s allies in the NATO military alliance.
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