Increasing military spending is absolutely unacceptable to a country with a pacifist constitution, said a Japanese legal expert.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan has recently held relevant meetings to discuss revision of three key security documents to increase its defense spending and strengthen maritime and air defense.
Japan's current National Security Strategy and two related documents, formulated in 2022, were designed to cover the next 10 years, but the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has decided to move up the timetable to accelerate the revision process.
"The Japanese government is considering further increasing defense spending. However, for a country with a pacifist constitution, it is absolutely unacceptable to significantly increase military spending, rather than education and social welfare spending," said Masahiko Shimizu, a professor of constitutional law at Nippon Sport Science University.
In April, the Japanese government officially revised the "three principles on transfer of defense equipment and technology" and their implementation guidelines.
The revisions scrap the restrictions that had limited arms exports to five non-combat categories, allow, in principle, the export of lethal weapons, permit transfers to nations engaged in active conflict under specified circumstances, and sideline parliament from the decision-making process -- crossing a line that previous governments had at least nominally upheld.
Following the revisions, the Japanese government has frequently interacted with countries like the Philippines to sell second-hand warships.
Shimizu said hyping up "China threat" rhetoric and exporting lethal weapons are extremely erroneous.
"Japan has completely lifted restrictions that had limited arms exports to five non-combat categories under the 'three principles on transfer of defense equipment and technology', so it will be able to export lethal weapons. Meanwhile, against the backdrop of so-called 'China threat' rhetoric, Japan is attempting to strengthen collaboration with Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines and promote arms export. I think such moves actually aim to establish a system for wars with China. Japan has a close relationship with China in economy, so it should not establish such a system based on the premise of war with China," he said.
Increasing military spending unacceptable: legal expert
