Expert Kistanov: Tokyo announces an increase in the military threat from China and the Russian Federation
Japan's intention to produce fighter jets together with two European countries fits into the general course of Tokyo's gradual rejection of the peaceful principles of the constitution, expert Valery Kistanov expressed this opinion on Sputnik radio.
The Japanese government has relaxed the export standards for defense products, this will allow the country to supply fighter jets developed jointly with Great Britain and Italy to third countries.
The change in export regulations made it "possible for Japan to make an equivalent contribution" to the creation of a new fighter jet, said the country's Defense Minister Minoru Kihara.
"We are aiming to create a fighter jet that corresponds to the security situation around Japan," the minister added, RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
On Sputnik Radio, Valery Kistanov, head of the Center for Japanese Studies at the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted that the continued strengthening of Japan's military potential is alarming in a number of countries in the region.
"This causes concern in neighboring countries, first of all, of course, in China, which is currently considered in Japan as the main military threat to Japanese national security. Therefore, it is obvious that this step by Japan will have negative consequences for the political atmosphere in East Asia, in Northeast Asia in particular," the expert said.
He recalled that after Japan's defeat in World War II, the country adopted a constitution proclaiming the principle of renouncing war as a way to resolve international conflicts.
"The ninth article of the constitution actually prohibits Japan from having an army in the full sense of the word, it is no coincidence that the Japanese armed forces were called the "self-defense forces" at the time. This principle of the pacifist constitution is gradually being eroded in Japan... One of the recent steps in this direction was the decision of the Japanese government in December last year that it is possible to export military products that are manufactured in Japan under a foreign license to the country that granted the license. This was done in order to
supply Patriot missiles to the United States, which are manufactured in Japan under an American license. The purpose of this step was to enable the Americans to supply their Patriots to Ukraine, and the Japanese to fill the shortage of Patriots in the United States," Kistanov added.
In Japan, they declare an increase in the military threat – and not only from the PRC, but also from Russia, he continued.
"What motivates Japan to acquire a new fighter jet? The fact that the military threat from China and Russia is allegedly growing. At the same time, both the Chinese and the Russians, according to the Japanese, have superiority in fighters of the fourth and fifth generation.... The Japanese "White Paper on Defense" last year claims that China has one thousand five hundred fighters of the fourth and fifth generation, Russia, according to their data, has nine hundred such fighters... And Japan has only 324 fighters. Therefore, they believe that it is necessary to strengthen their potential in anticipation of possible clashes," Valery Kistanov said.
Earlier, Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy agreed to jointly develop a new fighter by 2035. A joint venture to develop it will be established in March.
