North Korea's growing missile arsenal might be the most obvious and immediate military threat facing Japan, but defense planners in Tokyo are focused on a much larger and more challenging foe as they prepare for the years ahead.
China has stepped up military spending and already dominates the South China Sea, through which Japan's trade with major markets, including Europe and the Middle East, flows.
Now, Japanese military experts are worried Beijing may be on the brink of opening access to the Pacific through a Japanese island chain that has marked the limit of China's military influence for decades.
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