Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, middle, attends a cupboard assembly at her workplace in Tokyo, August 4, 2026. /VCG
Japan’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday launched its annual protection white paper, “Defense of Japan 2026,” which continued to painting an “increasingly severe” regional safety atmosphere, in an effort to pave the best way for revising the nation’s three key safety paperwork by the top of this 12 months and accelerating its navy buildup.
The white paper, introduced to the cupboard on the day by Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, retained the wording of the 2025 version, claiming that the worldwide neighborhood is dealing with its best problem since World War II and has entered a “new era of crisis.”
The roughly 600-page report additionally continued to label China as Japan’s “greatest strategic challenge ever,” making unwarranted criticisms and intentionally hyping up China’s routine navy actions and legit nationwide protection growth, whereas wantonly distorting the Chinese navy’s needed actions to safeguard nationwide sovereignty and territorial integrity.
It additionally outlined the safety insurance policies pursued by the federal government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. In March, Japan deployed its land-based Type 25 anti-ship missile in Kumamoto Prefecture. With an upgraded 1,000-kilometer vary, the missile far exceeds the nation’s territorial protection necessities and possesses clear offensive capabilities, marking Japan’s first deployment of long-range missiles with “counterstrike capabilities.”
According to the white paper, Japan will additional develop such capabilities by growing air-launched and ship-launched variants of the Type 25 missile, advancing analysis on hypersonic missiles, and introducing foreign-made stand-off missiles.
Compared with earlier editions, the brand new report features a standalone part on “new forms of warfare” and expands protection of efforts to strengthen Japan’s protection manufacturing and technological base. It highlights the rising function of unmanned methods and synthetic intelligence in navy operations and states that each authorities and private-sector technological capabilities needs to be extra actively utilized within the subject of nationwide safety.
Analysts mentioned that by taking part in up threats in regional safety and emphasizing the transformation of fight methods and the enlargement of the protection business in its new white paper, the Japanese authorities goals to pave the best way for revising its three key safety paperwork earlier than the top of the 12 months and additional advancing the nation’s navy enlargement.
Source: CGTN