Japan warns of rising global tension, Russia-China arms tiesTOKYO (AP) — Japan warned of escalating national security threats stemming from Russia’s war on Ukraine and China’s tensions with Taiwan in an annual defense paper issued Friday, as Japan tries to bolster its military capability and spending. China, Russia and North Korea top Japan’s security concerns in the 500-page report. The report said military cooperation between the two countries should be closely watched because it could have a “direct impact” on Japan’s security. Kishida's governing Liberal Democratic Party has called for doubling Japan's military spending to 2% of its GDP, in line with the NATO standard, to about 10 trillion yen ($72.6 billion) over the next five years. Recent media surveys showed the majority of the Japanese public support increased defense spending and deterence, including possessing pre-emptive strike capability.

Source: CBC News July 22, 2022 08:41 UTC