[２２日 ロイター] – Russia on Thursday accused Japan of abandoning its pacifist policy and accepting “unchecked militarization” in a plan to strengthen its defense system announced last week by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The Japanese government decided on the 16th that Prime Minister Kishida’s defense budget will be increased to about 43 trillion yen over the next five years from fiscal 2023.
“It clearly shows that Japan has embarked on an unprecedented military build-up, including the acquisition of offensive capabilities,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“It means a clear denial of the peaceful development that successive generations of politicians have repeatedly proclaimed, and a return to an unbridled militarist line,” he said.
“[Such a move]will inevitably raise new security challenges and increase tensions in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
The decision to increase the defense budget was made despite the fact that “Japan’s economy is far from stellar and structural imbalances in the national budget are widening,” he said.