Japan PM Takaichi warns of China ‘coercion’, vows security overhaul

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned of growing Chinese “coercion” in her first post-election speech to Parliament on Feb 20, and pledged to overhaul defence strategy, ease curbs on military exports and strengthen critical supply chains.

Ms Takaichi’s four-month tenure has been marked by a diplomatic dispute with China, after she said Japan could deploy military force to counter any attack on Taiwan that also threatened Japanese territory.

After turning a fragile majority into a landslide victory in February’s Lower House election, Ms Takaichi outlined an agenda aimed at countering what she sees as a growing economic and security threat from China and its regional partners.

PM faces little political resistance

With more than two-thirds of seats now controlled by her ruling coalition, she faces little resistance to her plans.

“Japan faces its most severe and complex security environment since World War II,” Ms Takaichi said, pointing to China’s expanding military activity, its closer security ties with Russia, and North Korea’s rising nuclear missile capability.

The government will revise Japan’s three core security documents in 2026 to produce a new defence strategy, and will accelerate a review of military export rules to expand overseas sales and strengthen defence companies, she added.

A policy panel of Ms Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party proposed on Feb 20 to scrap rules that limit military exports to non-lethal equipment such as body armour, Kyodo News said. Such a change could significantly widen the range of defence equipment Japanese firms can sell overseas.

“China has intensified its attempts to unilaterally change the status quo through force or coercion in the East China Sea and South China Sea,” Ms Takaichi told lawmakers.

Steps up military build-up

Ms Takaichi has hastened a military build-up launched in 2023 that will double Japan’s defence spending to 2 per cent of gross domestic product by the end of March, making the country one of the world’s biggest military spenders, despite its pacifist Constitution.

She also announced plans for a national intelligence council chaired by her to consolidate information gathered across agencies, including the police and the Defence Ministry.

Japan does not have foreign or domestic intelligence services such as the US Central Intelligence Agency or Britain’s MI5.

Beyond security, Ms Takaichi proposed a Japanese version of the US Committee on Foreign Investment to screen overseas investment in sensitive sectors, and said rules governing land purchases by foreigners would be reviewed.

She pledged to strengthen supply chains to reduce dependence on “specific countries”, and work with allies to secure critical materials, including rare earths, around Minamitori, a remote Pacific island.

Ms Takaichi also promised to speed up the restart of reactors that have been idle since the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in 2011.

“A nation that does not take on challenges has no future,” she said in concluding remarks. “Politics that seeks only to protect cannot inspire hope.” REUTERS