A 2021 version of the Defense White Paper was released in August. Reports say an extraordinary sum of the military budget is compiled, referring to situations in the southwestern islands region of Japan. ‘Threats of China’ are fanned up by the government amid the pandemic in which people suffer. Simultaneously intensified is the Self Defense Forces (SDF).
IN AN EXCUSE TO DEFEND SOUTHWESTERN ISLANDS AND TAIWAN
Defense Program Guidelines and Medium Term Defense Program
The Medium Term Defense Program relies on the National Defense Program Guidelines. The latter is compiled from a mid-and-long-term perspective of the basic national security policy.
Based on the guidelines, the mid-term military capability plan is set up every five years to provide concrete defense policies and a procurement sum of military equipment. Currently the 30th round of plan is being implemented. Inside the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) a military-first group of the members demands to update it.
The Defense White Papers are documents issuede every year by the Defense Ministry to incorporate basic national security policies, analyze military situations of the neighbors and report on the SDF’s behaviors. The Paper, based on the pro-active peace initiative, specifies Japan’s defense (=military) strategy, which is multi-dimensional, integrated potential provided in the 30th version the White Paper announced in December 2018. It refers to:
Operations to integrate all capabilities in the fields of outer space, cyberspace and electromagnetic spectrum and to intensify capabilities in the cross-domain platform
Enduring maintenance of strategic activities at all levels from peacetime up to armed contingency
Active leverage of deterrence and response of the US-Japan alliance and promotion of multifaceted and multilayered security cooperation.
The focus is being shifted to defending the Southwestern Islands and Taiwan. Finance Minister Aso Taro mentioned in July on carrying out the collective self defense right with regard to an emergency around Taiwan.
Expansion from Southwestern Islands through Taiwan
A terrain which Japan will defend has extended from the Southwestern Islands region up to Taiwan. The government has deployed approximately 550 troopers on the Amami-Oshima Island and 700-800, on the Miyako-jima Island, so as to increase defense aptitude in the region where tensions remain high with China. In the Ishigaki-jima Island the construction work is going on from 2019 to set up a base to station 500-600 soldiers for the surface-to-ship missile component.
Weapons development is speedy, too. The government works on acquiring capabilities to attack enemies’ bases, in contingency, of China, Korea and Taiwan, by increasing long-range stand-off abilities in a range of 1,500 km by upgrading the Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile.
Exceeding the 1% of GNP limit
Demands of ministries for the 2021 Fiscal in the military field amount over \5.47 trillion in total, which is the biggest in the history. But the figure does not contain other budget items, like separate requests. Under these circumstances the sum surpasses the rule of 1% of the GNP.
The Japanese government must not stir up threats of China, but it must rely on the four agreements concluded with the nation, including the 1978 Japan-China Peace Treaty, and uphold Article Nine of the Constitution. A real security policy lies in an independent stance in diplomacy free of the integrated position of the US global strategy.
防衛大綱と中期防
中期防衛力整備計画は、防衛大綱を基礎としている。防衛大綱は安全保障政策の基本的指針を概ね中長期的な視点で定めたものである。
これに基づき５年毎の具体的な防衛政策や防衛装備調達量を定めた中期防衛力整備計画（中期防）が策定される。現在「30大綱」だが、早期見直しが自民党国防族から出ている。
防衛白書は防衛省が毎年、日本の防衛政策の基本方針や周辺国の軍事情勢の分析、自衛隊の動きなどを「白書」としてまとめたもの。白書は「積極的平和主義」を基本に、日本の防衛（軍事）戦略は２０１８年12月に策定された「30大綱」の「多次元統合防衛力の構築」とし、①宇宙、サイバー、電磁波を含む全領域の能力を融合し、その能力を増幅させる領域横断（クロス・ドメイン）作戦②平時から有事まで全ての段階における戦略的な活動を常時継続③日米同盟の抑止力・対処力の強化及び多角的・多層的な安全保障協力の推進をうたっている。
防衛の重点は、南西諸島と台湾の防衛にシフトした。７月には麻生太郎財務相が、台湾有事での集団的自衛権行使に言及している。
南西諸島から台湾
日本の防衛地域は南西諸島から台湾へ拡大した。中国との緊張状態が続く南西諸島防衛強化のため、これまで奄美大島に隊員約５５０名、宮古島に隊員約７００～８００名の部隊配置。石垣島には19年に着工した地対艦ミサイル部隊基地建設（５００～６００名）が進む。
兵器開発もピッチを上げている。例えば、「12式地対艦誘導弾」を改良し、射程１５００キロまでの長距離スタンドオフ能力（敵の迎撃能力の射程外から攻撃する）に高め、中国、朝鮮、台湾の「有事」では敵基地攻撃能力の保有を狙う。
ＧＤＰ１％超過に
来年度の防衛費概算要求は、総額が過去最高の５兆４７００億円台を計上。しかも、「事項要求」である別予算は含まない。このままでは国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）の１％を超える。
日本は中国の「脅威」を煽るのでなく、１９７８年の日中平和条約をはじめ４つの合意文書と憲法９条に立ち返り、米国軍事戦略との一体化から独自外交を展開することが真の安全保障戦略だ。
英訳版↓
No. 1228 Unlimited Sum of Defense Budget
A 2021 version of the Defense White Paper was released in August. Reports say an extraordinary sum of the military budget is compiled, referring to situations in the southwestern islands region of Japan. ‘Threats of China’ are fanned up by the government amid the pandemic in which people suffer. Simultaneously intensified is the Self Defense Forces (SDF).
IN AN EXCUSE TO DEFEND SOUTHWESTERN ISLANDS AND TAIWAN
Defense Program Guidelines and Medium Term Defense Program
The Medium Term Defense Program relies on the National Defense Program Guidelines. The latter is compiled from a mid-and-long-term perspective of the basic national security policy.
Based on the guidelines, the mid-term military capability plan is set up every five years to provide concrete defense policies and a procurement sum of military equipment. Currently the 30th round of plan is being implemented. Inside the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) a military-first group of the members demands to update it.
The Defense White Papers are documents issuede every year by the Defense Ministry to incorporate basic national security policies, analyze military situations of the neighbors and report on the SDF’s behaviors. The Paper, based on the pro-active peace initiative, specifies Japan’s defense (=military) strategy, which is multi-dimensional, integrated potential provided in the 30th version the White Paper announced in December 2018. It refers to:
The focus is being shifted to defending the Southwestern Islands and Taiwan. Finance Minister Aso Taro mentioned in July on carrying out the collective self defense right with regard to an emergency around Taiwan.
Expansion from Southwestern Islands through Taiwan
A terrain which Japan will defend has extended from the Southwestern Islands region up to Taiwan. The government has deployed approximately 550 troopers on the Amami-Oshima Island and 700-800, on the Miyako-jima Island, so as to increase defense aptitude in the region where tensions remain high with China. In the Ishigaki-jima Island the construction work is going on from 2019 to set up a base to station 500-600 soldiers for the surface-to-ship missile component.
Weapons development is speedy, too. The government works on acquiring capabilities to attack enemies’ bases, in contingency, of China, Korea and Taiwan, by increasing long-range stand-off abilities in a range of 1,500 km by upgrading the Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile.
Exceeding the 1% of GNP limit
Demands of ministries for the 2021 Fiscal in the military field amount over \5.47 trillion in total, which is the biggest in the history. But the figure does not contain other budget items, like separate requests. Under these circumstances the sum surpasses the rule of 1% of the GNP.
The Japanese government must not stir up threats of China, but it must rely on the four agreements concluded with the nation, including the 1978 Japan-China Peace Treaty, and uphold Article Nine of the Constitution. A real security policy lies in an independent stance in diplomacy free of the integrated position of the US global strategy.
October 6, 2021