Japan PM vows to strengthen military at international naval review

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says his country urgently needs to strengthen its military capabilities as security risks increase including threats from North Korea and Russia’s war on Ukraine

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at an international fleet review on Sunday that his country urgently needs to strengthen its military capabilities as security risks increase including threats from North Korea’s nuclear and missile advancement and Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Eighteen warships from 12 countries participated in the review, including the United States, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea, while the U.S. and France also sent warplanes.

South Korea joined for the first time in seven years, in the latest sign of improvement in badly strained ties between Tokyo and Seoul over Japan's wartime atrocities.

“The security environment in the East and South China seas, especially around Japan, is increasingly becoming more severe,” Mr. Kishida said, noting North Korea's increased missile firings, including one that flew over Japan last month, and growing concern about the impact in Asia of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Avoiding disputes and seeking dialogue is important, Mr. Kishida said, but it is also necessary to be prepared for provocations and threats to peace and stability. He repeated his pledge to significantly reinforce Japan's military capability within five years.

Mr. Kishida said Japan urgently needs to build more warships, strengthen anti-missile capability and improve working conditions for troops.

"We have no time to waste," Mr. Kishida said after his review aboard the JS Izumo, where naval officers from the participating countries gathered to review a demonstration of the frigates, submarines, supply ships and warplanes in Sagami Bay southwest of Tokyo.