Japan Announces New Defense Spending Plan
2022-12-29
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1Under a new National Security Strategy (NSS) and other documents, Japan will nearly double its defense spending and deploy missiles in a new way.
2Since the end of World War II, Japan's military, called the Japan Self-Defense Forces, has held defensive, not offensive weapons.
3In recent years, partly because of the growing influence of China in Southeast Asia, Japan has been reconsidering its position.
4Under a new defense spending plan, Japan aims to purchase missiles that can hit military targets in other countries.
5The spending means the world's third-largest economy will no longer spend the ninth-most on weapons and defense.
6The new plan will increase Japan's spending from one percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to two percent over the next five years.
7If this happens, Japan will move to third in the world in defense spending.
8Japan will center its early spending on what it calls "counterstrike capability," or the ability to hit targets in other countries.
9The move has been the subject of debate within in Japan, as the country's past guidelines restricted offensive weapons.
10Japan's constitution, written after World War II with American influence, bars it from making war.
11The new defense ideas in the NSS note that having missiles that can hit foreign targets acts as a form of defense.
12But the new documents say striking first "remains impermissible."
13Japan's military says it will purchase hundreds of U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles, which can travel up to 2,500 kilometers.
14The new defense plan was developed because Japan believes that the security situation in the region is at its "most severe and complex" since the end of World War II.
15Japan is worried about recent military exercises by China and North Korea.
16In addition, Japan said it is concerned about Russia's growing ties with China.
17Military experts say Japan's leaders are concerned that Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine may set an example for other nations to follow.
18Public opinion studies in Japan have shown support for the nation's new military plan.
19Jake Sullivan is the National Security Advisor to the U.S. president. He called Japan's new plan "bold."
20But leaders in China, North Korea and Russia denounced the plan.
21China said Japan was overreacting to the Chinese threat as a way to provide a reason for the military purchases.
22Russia criticized the plan as unrestricted "militarization."
23James Brown is a professor at Temple University in Tokyo. He is a political science expert.
24Brown called the criticism "without foundation," meaning that it is not grounded in facts.
25He noted that Russia, North Korea and China all have many long-range missiles.
26I'm Dan Friedell.
1Under a new National Security Strategy (NSS) and other documents, Japan will nearly double its defense spending and deploy missiles in a new way. 2Since the end of World War II, Japan's military, called the Japan Self-Defense Forces, has held defensive, not offensive weapons. 3In recent years, partly because of the growing influence of China in Southeast Asia, Japan has been reconsidering its position. 4Under a new defense spending plan, Japan aims to purchase missiles that can hit military targets in other countries. 5The spending means the world's third-largest economy will no longer spend the ninth-most on weapons and defense. 6The new plan will increase Japan's spending from one percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to two percent over the next five years. If this happens, Japan will move to third in the world in defense spending. 7Japan will center its early spending on what it calls "counterstrike capability," or the ability to hit targets in other countries. 8The move has been the subject of debate within in Japan, as the country's past guidelines restricted offensive weapons. Japan's constitution, written after World War II with American influence, bars it from making war. 9The new defense ideas in the NSS note that having missiles that can hit foreign targets acts as a form of defense. But the new documents say striking first "remains impermissible." 10Japan's military says it will purchase hundreds of U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles, which can travel up to 2,500 kilometers. 11The new defense plan was developed because Japan believes that the security situation in the region is at its "most severe and complex" since the end of World War II. 12Japan is worried about recent military exercises by China and North Korea. In addition, Japan said it is concerned about Russia's growing ties with China. 13Military experts say Japan's leaders are concerned that Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine may set an example for other nations to follow. 14Public opinion studies in Japan have shown support for the nation's new military plan. 15Jake Sullivan is the National Security Advisor to the U.S. president. He called Japan's new plan "bold." 16But leaders in China, North Korea and Russia denounced the plan. China said Japan was overreacting to the Chinese threat as a way to provide a reason for the military purchases. Russia criticized the plan as unrestricted "militarization." 17James Brown is a professor at Temple University in Tokyo. He is a political science expert. Brown called the criticism "without foundation," meaning that it is not grounded in facts. 18He noted that Russia, North Korea and China all have many long-range missiles. 19I'm Dan Friedell. 20William Gallo wrote this story for VOA. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. 21______________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23gross domestic product (GDP) -n. all the good and services produced in a country in a year which is considered a good measure of the size of a nation's economy 24counterstrike -n. a strike that is in reaction to a first strike 25bold -adj. not afraid of danger or difficulty 26long-range -adj. able to travel long distances 27_____________________________________________________________ 28We want to hear from you. Do you think Japan will ever use one of its new missiles? 29We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 30Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.