Sanae Takaiči, Photo: REUTERS
Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi promised in her first major political speech last night to accelerate military strengthening and investment in national defense and to embark on an extraordinary overhaul of the country’s security strategy – amid intensifying tensions with China, North Korea and Russia.
Takaichi took office on Tuesday after being elected as the first woman to hold a leadership position in Japan.
This ended a months-long political vacuum that resulted from power struggles within her party, and after a series of consecutive election defeats in which the ruling coalition lost its majority in both houses of parliament.
Takaichi said today that her government will meet the annual target of spending two percent of gross domestic product on defense, and that the goal will be reached as early as March, not in 2027, as was the initial plan.
She also said that she would revise the security strategy early, so that it would be ready by the end of 2026.
Japan has previously done this about once a decade, and last changed its strategy in December 2022.
According to her, the reason for the extraordinary revision of the strategy is changes in the country’s security environment, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.
“The free, open and stable international order we are accustomed to has been severely shaken by a historic shift in the balance of power and intensification of geopolitical competition,” Takaichi told parliament.
According to her, “in the region around Japan, military activities and other actions by our neighbors China, North Korea, and Russia are causing serious concern” and “Japan must proactively push for a fundamental strengthening of its defense power.”
US President Donald Trump is visiting Tokyo and will stay there from October 27th to 29th.
The new prime minister faces tough demands from Trump, such as increasing Japanese military spending and more extensive purchases of expensive American weapons.
Her meeting with Trump is part of a major diplomatic test that also includes two regional summits.
Takaichi said she plans to talk with Trump about further strengthening the Japan-US alliance, while nurturing a personal relationship based on trust between the two sides.
She noted that Japan needs to establish a constructive and stable relationship with China, but that there are “security concerns.”
Her hawkish policies and views on Japan’s war history, as well as her regular visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which Asian victims of Japanese colonial-era atrocities see as a lack of remorse, could undermine Tokyo’s relations with Beijing, experts say.
The security strategy upgrade could include more offensive roles for Japan’s military, further easing restrictions on arms exports and increasing military spending, but Takaichi did not specify how she plans to finance them.
To achieve any of its plans, its minority government needs cooperation with the opposition.
Her immediate task at home is to tackle rising prices and shrinking wages and to regain the support of the Conservatives.
The new ruling alliance of her Liberal Democratic Party with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party is raising concerns about Japan’s further shift to the right.
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