Pyongyang, May 4: The tension between North Korea and Japan has once again reached its peak. On Monday, North Korea sharply criticized major changes being made by Japan in its security policies and laws. North Korea has called it an open challenge to world peace and entire humanity. North Korea believes that Japan is preparing for war under the guise of peace.
Japan’s ‘three big documents’ and China’s fear
Japan is all set to update its three most important security documents this year—National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy and Defense Buildup Program. According to experts and Yonhap News Agency report, Japan is taking this step in view of China’s increasing military power and new security threats arising in the region. However, North Korea is not liking this preparation of Japan.
Questions on arms race and old intentions
In an article published in North Korea’s official newspaper ‘Rodong Sinmun’, serious allegations have been made against Japan. According to the article, this is a ‘cunning conspiracy’ of Japan. North Korea says that Japan wants to revive its old intention of attacking other countries again by taking advantage of the increasing tension in the world. The article further said that increasing the defense budget and lifting the ban on arms exports are actually an attempt to revive Japan’s arms industry and increase its combat capability.
Major change in rules on export of arms
Last month, the Japanese government made revolutionary changes in the rules related to transfer of defense equipment and technology. Now Japan will be able to sell many types of military equipment including lethal weapons to foreign countries. However, there has been massive opposition to this decision in Japan. Earlier, Japan could export only five types of non-combat equipment (such as rescue, transport and surveillance equipment), but now the picture has changed.
What are the new rules and Sanae Takaichi’s plan?
Under the new rules, military equipment has been divided into two parts – ‘weapons’ and ‘non-weapons’. Now Japan will also be able to sell deadly weapons like missiles and warships to those countries with which it has defense agreements. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has already made it clear that she wants to rapidly increase the country’s military strength. He has set a target of taking the defense budget to 2 percent of GDP by March 2026 and updating all major security related documents by the end of 2026.
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