THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
April 22, 2022 at 16:52 JST
Itsunori Onodera, center, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's Research Commission on Security, speaks to reporters on April 21. (Naotaka Fujita)
A Liberal Democratic Party panel has effectively expanded the definition of “attack” to allow the Self-Defense Forces to strike enemy bases while maintaining Japan’s long-held exclusively defensive posture, at least on paper.
The LDP’s Research Commission on Security on April 21 approved recommendations that will serve as a starting point in compiling a new National Security Strategy by the end of the year.
One of the recommendations was the use of the term “counterattack capability” to allow the SDF to strike an enemy base that is believed to have started preparing for a missile attack against Japan.
“The government will decide (whether to use the new SDF function) once the situation arises where the enemy has made a clear intent of launching an attack and has begun taking steps for that move,” Itsunori Onodera, chairman of the commission, said.
The recommendations named China, Russia and North Korea as threats to Japan’s security, adding that development of new missiles, especially by China, has raised fears that Japan can no longer defend itself by only intercepting incoming missiles.
The new SDF function had previously been proposed as “pre-emptive strike capability.” However, ruling coalition partner Komeito objected to that term, and concerns arose that it could go against Japan’s exclusively defensive posture.
Under the recommendations, such early SDF strikes would fall in the “counterattack” category because enemy preparations for a missile launch against Japan would be viewed as a first attack.
In addition to missile attacks, the LDP panel also called for strengthening the SDF’s capability to engage in outer space, cyber and electronic warfare.
The panel recommended that defense spending be increased to at least 2 percent of gross domestic product within five years. If that goal is reached, annual spending would reach about 10 trillion yen ($78 billion), about double the current amount.
(This article was written by Ryo Aibara and Naoki Matsuyama.)
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