Japan casts military buildup as path to economic prosperity

Japan's government is linking its military buildup to economic growth, arguing that arms production can support prosperity and benefit the wider economy and people's lives.

Japan's government is portraying its accelerating military buildup not only as a way to protect the country but as a route to greater prosperity, arguing in its latest defence white paper that arms production can support economic growth.

The annual assessment of ‌threats posed by neighbouring China, Russia and North Korea calls for Japan, constrained for decades by postwar restrictions on military activity, to harness technology, to fund startups and use more commercial components in weapons production. The white paper "stresses that investment in defence benefits the wider economy and people's lives", according to a Defence Ministry presentation document. That message aligns with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's broader ‌use of strategic state spending in an effort to drive economic growth.

The pitch is reinforced by the document's anime-style cover, which depicts a smiling family in a ‌gleaming cityscape rather than the troops, weapons and military insignia featured on many previous editions. A Defence Ministry official said the design was intended to convey a "futuristic image". NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY

The link between defence and future prosperity comes as Takaichi's administration prepares a new national security strategy. Military experts expect it to call for further spending increases aimed primarily at deterring China from starting a conflict with Taiwan that could also draw Japan into a prolonged ⁠war. "China's military ​activities and other actions are a matter of ⁠serious concern to Japan and the international community, and represent Japan's greatest strategic challenge," the white paper said.

In a statement on Tuesday, China's Defence Ministry spokesperson Chen Xi said the white paper was "filled with false narratives" hyping ⁠up the so-called China threat. "We are strongly dissatisfied with this and firmly oppose it," he said. Chen accused Japan of finding excuses for loosening military restrictions and called on Tokyo to reflect on ​its history of aggression and not go further down the "wrong path of remilitarisation".

Ties between Japan and China sank to their worst level in years after Takaichi said in ⁠November that Japan could deploy its Self-Defence Forces if any Chinese attack on Taiwan also threatened Japan's survival, with Beijing demanding that she retract what it called an "egregious" remark. Chen on Tuesday also warned Tokyo to not interfere ⁠in China's ​internal affairs.

LARGEST MILITARY BUILDUP SINCE WORLD WAR TWO Tokyo has assembled a patchwork of tax increases, spending reforms and one-off revenues to finance Japan's largest military buildup since World War Two, which has pushed defence-related spending to 2% of gross domestic product.

But Takaichi has yet to explain clearly how she would pay for a further expansion without adding ⁠pressure on Japan's already stretched public finances. Her government secured a record 122.3 trillion yen budget for the year to March 2027 and later added a 3.1 trillion yen supplementary ⁠package to cushion households and businesses from higher energy ⁠costs, underscoring the competing demands on the public purse.

Much of the new defence spending so far has gone on missiles capable of striking targets more than 1,000 km (620 miles) away. A significant share of any further increase is expected to go toward drones and ‌other unmanned weapons of ‌the kind deployed extensively by Ukraine in its war with Russia.