Japan will name North Korea and China as threats to its security in a new defense policy to be compiled next month, according to a draft the government presented Friday to the Liberal Democratic Party.
It is the first time Japan mentions specific nations as threats to its peace and stability. The current National Defense Program Outline, issued in 1995, merely states that uncertainty and unpredictability remain in areas surrounding Japan, including on the Korean Peninsula.
"North Korea's military moves are a grave destabilizing factor in the region," states the draft, presented to a security panel of the LDP.
"At the same time, Japan must pay close attention to China's modernization of its military and the expansion of its activities in the sea."
Japan is in dispute with China over ocean resources and over ownership of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Earlier this month, a Chinese submarine briefly intruded into Japanese territorial waters off Okinawa, putting the Maritime Self-Defense Force on alert.
The draft also says the stability of the region stretching from the Middle East to East Asia is crucial to Japan's security. It says Japan must cooperate with other nations in keeping the region stable.