Pacifist Japan unveils unprecedented $320 bln military build-up
Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force’s International Fleet Review at Sagami Bay
Fri, December 16, 2022Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force’s International Fleet Review at Sagami Bay
By Tim Kelly and Sakura Murakami
TOKYO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Japan said on Friday it would begin a once-unthinkable $320 billion military build-up that would arm it with missiles capable of striking China and ready it for a sustained conflict as regional tensions and Russia's Ukraine invasion stoke war fears.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government worries that Russia has set a precedent that will encourage China to attack Taiwan, threatening nearby Japanese islands, disrupting supplies of advanced semiconductors and putting a potential stranglehold on sea lanes that supply Middle East oil.
In its sweeping five-year plan and revamped national security strategy, the government said it would also stockpile spare parts and other munitions, reinforce logistics, develop cyber warfare capabilities, and cooperate more closely with the United States and other like-minded nations to deter threats to the established international order.
"Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a serious violation of laws that forbid the use of force and has shaken the foundations of the international order," Japan said in the national security paper.
"The strategic challenge posed by China is the biggest Japan has ever faced," it added.
Unthinkable under past administrations, the rapid arming of Japan, which already hosts U.S. forces, including a carrier strike group and a Marine expeditionary force, has the backing of most voters, according to opinion polls. Some surveys put support as high as 70% of voters.
Kishida's plan will double defence outlays to about 2% of gross domestic product over the next five years and increase the defence ministry's share to around a tenth of all public spending. It will also make Japan the world's third-biggest military spender after the United States and China, based on current budgets.
The five-year spending roadmap did not come with a detailed plan for how Kishida's administration would pay for it, as ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers continue to discuss whether to raise taxes or borrow money.
Reporting by Tim Kelly, Sakura Murakami and Nobuhiro Kubo; Editing by David Dolan and Gerry Doyle.
Japan ruling party panel agrees on tax hikes to boost defence, with delay
Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force’s International Fleet Review at Sagami Bay
Thu, December 15, 2022
By Tetsushi Kajimoto
TOKYO (Reuters) -A tax panel of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Thursday agreed to raise the country's key taxes to pay for the defence budget, but stiff opposition among lawmakers effectively delayed a decision on when to implement the politically unpopular move.
The tax plan, following through on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's commitment to raise taxes to double defence spending to 2% of gross domestic product by 2027, had become bogged down in wrangling among lawmakers who objected to near-term tax increases that could hurt Japan's fragile economy.
The tax plan will be written into an annual tax-code revision for the next fiscal year from April, with the aim of gaining formal government approval on Friday, Yoichi Miyazawa, chief of the ruling party's tax panel, told reporters after the panel's meeting.
"Participants agreed to leave the defence tax plan entirely to me," Miyazawa said.
However, the tax hikes will kick in "at an appropriate time" in fiscal year 2024 or thereafter, he said, stopping short of committing to exactly when to implement the tax hike or suggesting a possible delay.
The delay would highlight challenges for Kishida as his popularity dwindles and he juggles conflicting priorities that pit restoring Japan's tattered public finances against addressing geopolitical risks from an assertive China and unpredictable North Korea and Russia.
Japan is struggling to secure funding sources for planned defence spending of 43 trillion yen ($315 billion) over the next five years, which could further complicate its aim of balancing the budget - excluding new bond sales and debt servicing - by fiscal year 2025.
Kishida has resisted calls from within his own party to issue additional bonds to fund defence spending. However, the government also recently floated issuing construction bonds to develop Self-Defence Forces facilities, Kyodo news reported, which would mark an unprecedented use of infrastructure-related debt for military purposes.
Among the three taxes, including a tobacco tax, targeted for increases, the special income tax was originally intended to help rebuild areas hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan, which was unrelated to military spending.
The corporate tax hikes would consist of a surtax of 4% to 4.5%, with exemptions for small firms with annual income of up to 24 million yen, Miyazawa said.
Many LDP lawmakers had objected, saying raising corporate taxes could undermine the push for wage increases the government considers necessary for sustained growth and inflation.
Under the defence build-up plan, Kishida told Miyazawa to come up with a tax hike plan that would secure about 1 trillion yen annually from the fiscal year starting April 2027.
($1 = 136.6100 yen)
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Additional reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto and Takaya Yamaguchi; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim, Edmund Klamann and Mark Porter)
Japan ruling party panel agrees on tax hikes to boost defence, with delay
Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force’s International Fleet Review at Sagami Bay
Thu, December 15, 2022
By Tetsushi Kajimoto
TOKYO (Reuters) -A tax panel of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Thursday agreed to raise the country's key taxes to pay for the defence budget, but stiff opposition among lawmakers effectively delayed a decision on when to implement the politically unpopular move.
The tax plan, following through on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's commitment to raise taxes to double defence spending to 2% of gross domestic product by 2027, had become bogged down in wrangling among lawmakers who objected to near-term tax increases that could hurt Japan's fragile economy.
The tax plan will be written into an annual tax-code revision for the next fiscal year from April, with the aim of gaining formal government approval on Friday, Yoichi Miyazawa, chief of the ruling party's tax panel, told reporters after the panel's meeting.
"Participants agreed to leave the defence tax plan entirely to me," Miyazawa said.
However, the tax hikes will kick in "at an appropriate time" in fiscal year 2024 or thereafter, he said, stopping short of committing to exactly when to implement the tax hike or suggesting a possible delay.
The delay would highlight challenges for Kishida as his popularity dwindles and he juggles conflicting priorities that pit restoring Japan's tattered public finances against addressing geopolitical risks from an assertive China and unpredictable North Korea and Russia.
Japan is struggling to secure funding sources for planned defence spending of 43 trillion yen ($315 billion) over the next five years, which could further complicate its aim of balancing the budget - excluding new bond sales and debt servicing - by fiscal year 2025.
Kishida has resisted calls from within his own party to issue additional bonds to fund defence spending. However, the government also recently floated issuing construction bonds to develop Self-Defence Forces facilities, Kyodo news reported, which would mark an unprecedented use of infrastructure-related debt for military purposes.
Among the three taxes, including a tobacco tax, targeted for increases, the special income tax was originally intended to help rebuild areas hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan, which was unrelated to military spending.
The corporate tax hikes would consist of a surtax of 4% to 4.5%, with exemptions for small firms with annual income of up to 24 million yen, Miyazawa said.
Many LDP lawmakers had objected, saying raising corporate taxes could undermine the push for wage increases the government considers necessary for sustained growth and inflation.
Under the defence build-up plan, Kishida told Miyazawa to come up with a tax hike plan that would secure about 1 trillion yen annually from the fiscal year starting April 2027.
($1 = 136.6100 yen)
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Additional reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto and Takaya Yamaguchi; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim, Edmund Klamann and Mark Porter)
Factbox: What will Japan's military build-up look like?
The Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium 2022 (PALS22) in Kisarazu, Japan
Fri, December 16, 2022 a
By Sakura Murakami
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan unveiled a new national security strategy on Friday along with details of its biggest military build-up since World War Two, in a marked shift away from the pacifism that has dominated its political discourse for seven decades.
The changes, which come as tensions grow with neighbouring China, Russia and North Korea, include spending on longer-range missiles and cyber warfare capabilities.
Here is what you need to know:
- The changes are set out in three documents: the National Security Strategy (NSS), the National Defense Strategy, and the Mid-Term Defence Program.
- The documents detail Japan's determination to develop new "counter strike" capabilities. These capabilities will allow Tokyo to hit ships and strike targets 1,000 km (621.37 miles)away with land or sea-launched missiles.
- Japan's military is currently armed with missiles that can fly a few hundred kilometres at most. Tokyo believes developing counter strike capabilities will deter potential attacks.
- Japan has been discussing the plan for more than two years.
- Tokyo will spend about $37 billion on boosting counterattack capabilities, such as by extending the range of its ground-launched Type 12 anti-ship missiles by 2027. It also plans to develop other missiles, including hypersonic weapons.
- The documents also say Japan will buy ship-launched, U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles. The Yomiuri newspaper previously reported that Tokyo wants as many as 500 of the cruise missiles, which can fly 1,250km.
- The defence ministry will spend more than 43 trillion yen ($315.76 billion) on its military over five years, doubling its defence budget to about 2% of GDP.
- Some $7 billion of that will go toward cyber warfare operations and another $7 billion toward space capabilities. Some $6 billion will go to developing next-generation fighter jets with Britain and Italy.
- To better coordinate its air, sea and land forces, Japan will establish its first joint command centre. Prime Minister Kishida's ruling party is also discussing joint U.S.-Japan commands, according to sources.
- The documents said Japan will increase munitions supplies and depots, without specifying details. The Yomiuri previously reported of plans to build about 70 munitions depots within five years and 130 by 2035. Military planners worry that Japan has too little ammunition for a lengthy conflict, a problem that has been highlighted by Russia's war in Ukraine. They also say stocks of spare parts are low.
- About 70% of the military's munitions are stored on Hokkaido island in Japan's north, a legacy of Cold War planning, when Japan's military adversary was the Soviet Union, according to a report by Nikkei.
- Japan now sees its main threat coming from China along its southwestern island chain, running along the East China Sea, and Tokyo plans to prepare supply bases in the southwest of Japan in anticipation of conflict near Taiwan.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami and Tim Kelly. Editing by Gerry Doyle and Tomasz Janowski)
The Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium 2022 (PALS22) in Kisarazu, Japan
Fri, December 16, 2022 a
By Sakura Murakami
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan unveiled a new national security strategy on Friday along with details of its biggest military build-up since World War Two, in a marked shift away from the pacifism that has dominated its political discourse for seven decades.
The changes, which come as tensions grow with neighbouring China, Russia and North Korea, include spending on longer-range missiles and cyber warfare capabilities.
Here is what you need to know:
- The changes are set out in three documents: the National Security Strategy (NSS), the National Defense Strategy, and the Mid-Term Defence Program.
- The documents detail Japan's determination to develop new "counter strike" capabilities. These capabilities will allow Tokyo to hit ships and strike targets 1,000 km (621.37 miles)away with land or sea-launched missiles.
- Japan's military is currently armed with missiles that can fly a few hundred kilometres at most. Tokyo believes developing counter strike capabilities will deter potential attacks.
- Japan has been discussing the plan for more than two years.
- Tokyo will spend about $37 billion on boosting counterattack capabilities, such as by extending the range of its ground-launched Type 12 anti-ship missiles by 2027. It also plans to develop other missiles, including hypersonic weapons.
- The documents also say Japan will buy ship-launched, U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles. The Yomiuri newspaper previously reported that Tokyo wants as many as 500 of the cruise missiles, which can fly 1,250km.
- The defence ministry will spend more than 43 trillion yen ($315.76 billion) on its military over five years, doubling its defence budget to about 2% of GDP.
- Some $7 billion of that will go toward cyber warfare operations and another $7 billion toward space capabilities. Some $6 billion will go to developing next-generation fighter jets with Britain and Italy.
- To better coordinate its air, sea and land forces, Japan will establish its first joint command centre. Prime Minister Kishida's ruling party is also discussing joint U.S.-Japan commands, according to sources.
- The documents said Japan will increase munitions supplies and depots, without specifying details. The Yomiuri previously reported of plans to build about 70 munitions depots within five years and 130 by 2035. Military planners worry that Japan has too little ammunition for a lengthy conflict, a problem that has been highlighted by Russia's war in Ukraine. They also say stocks of spare parts are low.
- About 70% of the military's munitions are stored on Hokkaido island in Japan's north, a legacy of Cold War planning, when Japan's military adversary was the Soviet Union, according to a report by Nikkei.
- Japan now sees its main threat coming from China along its southwestern island chain, running along the East China Sea, and Tokyo plans to prepare supply bases in the southwest of Japan in anticipation of conflict near Taiwan.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami and Tim Kelly. Editing by Gerry Doyle and Tomasz Janowski)
No comments:
Post a Comment