The U.S. has welcomed Japan’s “bold and historic step” to revise key security documents — laying the foundation for the country’s defense policies for years to come — while China slammed the move, sending an aircraft carrier-led flotilla through a key strategic waterway near Okinawa Prefecture in an apparent message to Tokyo.
The moves by the United States, Tokyo’s top ally, and China, which Japan has formally labeled as its “greatest strategic challenge ever,” came as Japan on Friday approved revisions to three key security documents, in a major shift in defense policy under its pacifist Constitution that signaled it is now more ready than ever to shed some of the postwar constraints on its military.
The revisions to the three security documents, which came after months of debate, will see Japan acquire a so-called counterstrike capability, which allows it to hit enemy bases and command-and-control nodes with longer-range standoff missiles. The country also set in stone a target of doubling its annual defense spending to about 2% of gross domestic product within five years.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.