CCTV News:Pay attention to Japan’s fiscal year 2018 budget. The budget was passed at the cabinet meeting in Japan on the 22nd, with a total amount of 97.71 trillion yen, or about 5.66 trillion yuan. Among them, the defense budget that attracted people’s attention reached 5.19 trillion yen, about 300 billion yuan, an increase of about 1.3% over last year.
According to the statistics of Kyodo News Agency, Japan’s defense budget has been declining year by year since 2002. However, since Shinzo Abe became prime minister for the second time in 2012, the Japanese government has continuously expanded its military strength, and the defense budget has been growing all the way. Now there has been a rare six-year growth, and the annual budget in the past three years has exceeded 5 trillion yen. For this phenomenon, Kyodo believes that the six-year increase in the defense budget will once again hinder the Japanese government’s pace of improving fiscal revenue and expenditure, which is not conducive to improving people’s livelihood.
Buy buy buys! Japan wants to strengthen its anti-missile capability
So how is Japan going to spend such a large sum of money? A large amount of this expenditure will be used to enhance the so-called anti-missile capability and upgrade the "missile defense system". Specifically, Japan intends to purchase the land-based Aegis system, install an improved version of the Standard 3 missile system for the Aegis destroyer, and order an improved version of the Patriot -3 missile system.
On December 19th, the Japanese government formally decided to introduce two sets of land-based Aegis missile defense systems, which will be deployed in the ground self-defense force exercise fields in Akita and Yamaguchi counties, covering the whole of Japan.
Japan attempts to build a "five-level land-based and sea-based integrated anti-missile system" to intercept incoming missiles at interception heights of 1,000 km, 600 km, 350 km, 150 km and 15 km. Japan’s current sea-based Aegis system and Patriot -3 missile system, together with the land-based Aegis system to be introduced today, can meet the anti-missile needs of the middle three levels.
According to Japan’s anti-missile idea, once a missile strikes, the standard -3 missile on the Aegis ship is responsible for intercepting it outside the atmosphere. The land-based Aegis system that Japan wants to introduce is to make up for the omission of the sea-based Aegis system and constitute "double insurance". The Saad system that Japan had previously considered purchasing was to intercept incoming missiles when both sea-based and land-based Aegis systems failed. If these are unsuccessful, then Patriot -3 missiles will intercept them in the atmosphere.
Build build! Japan wants to strengthen the deployment of southwest islands
Japan’s defense budget for fiscal year 2018 includes expenses for the construction of facilities of the Southwest Garrison. Japan claims that this is to strengthen the defense of the so-called "Southwest Islands". In fact, since Abe came to power for the second time in 2012, he has been focusing on strengthening the deployment of defense forces in Okinawa under the pretext of "China’s military forces frequently going in and out of the ocean". Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that Japan is deviating from the pacifist policy it has followed since its defeat in World War II.
The Wall Street Journal reported on December 20 that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces began to prepare for the deployment of anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile companies in a quiet valley full of sugar cane. This refers to Ishigaki Island. A spokesman for the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force said that the Self-Defense Force intends to deploy 500 to 600 members of the Self-Defense Force on Ishigaki Island.
Ishigaki Island is the third largest island in Okinawa Prefecture, only about 170 kilometers away from Diaoyu Island in China.
In addition to Ishigaki Island, the deployment sites of the Self-Defense Forces planned by the Abe government include Miyako Island and Nagano Island.
Miyako Island is the fourth largest island in Okinawa Prefecture, facing Okinawa about 300 kilometers to the north-this 300-kilometer waterway is also known as Miyako Strait, which is also an important passage in and out of the Western Pacific.
On November 20th, Miyakojima Self-Defense Forces’ residential land use project was started. From next year, facilities such as dormitories for members of the Self-Defense Forces will be built one after another, and it is planned to deploy 700-800-person garrison troops and ground-to-air and ground-to-ship missile units.
And Nagano Island is only 150 kilometers away from Diaoyu Island in China. It takes about ten minutes for the fighter plane to take off from Nagano Island to reach Diaoyu Island. In March last year, the Japanese Self-Defense Force officially established a "coastal surveillance force" base in Nagano Island. At present, troops and reconnaissance facilities have been stationed in Nagano Island.
Want to introduce cruise missiles from defense to attack day
According to the plan, in FY 2018, Japan will purchase six F-35A fighter jets, long-range cruise missiles for fighter jets and other equipment, and will also build a new submarine and two new destroyers. Among them, the introduction of cruise missiles is regarded by public opinion as Japan’s attempt to move from defense to attack.
The cruise missiles that the Japanese Defense Ministry wants to introduce include: the "JSM" missile developed by Norway, which will be carried on the F-35 fighter in 2021; The "JASSM" and "LRASM" missiles developed by the United States will be installed on the modified F-15 fighter. All three missiles have attack capability, among which American-made missiles also have anti-ship function.
After the war, Japan’s "Peace Constitution" stipulated the principle of "exclusively defending", and Japan did not have the military means to attack enemy countries. However, the Abe government has positioned the current missile introduction plan as "counterattack capability" and argued that it does not violate the "exclusive defense" policy.
Three secrets about Japan’s defense budget
The defense budget has increased for six consecutive years! This has to be alarming. What is the intention of the Abe government? What impact will such an approach bring to the regional situation? This has to start with three unspeakable secrets of Japan’s defense budget.
"Secret 1": Numbers "hide the sky and cross the sea"
The biggest "secret" of Japan’s defense budget is "crossing the sea". The figures in the government budget are actually only a part of the defense expenditure. The Abe government has increased the expenses by means of "supplementary budget", and the annual actual defense expenditure far exceeds the superficial figure of the defense budget. Experts predict that the actual defense expenditure growth in fiscal year 2018 may exceed 10%.
"Secret 2": the purpose is "secret"
The second "secret" is that although Abe’s government used the situation on the Korean Peninsula as an excuse to increase its budget, in fact, it only catered to the needs of the new security law known as the "War Law" and paid for Abe’s "Military Dream".
"Secret 3": "Please" America
The third "secret" is to "please" the United States with huge military purchases and make the United States pay more attention to the US-Japan alliance.
Japan’s defense budget growth may cause regional unrest.
These "secrets" are not spoken by the Japanese government, but other countries may not understand them. Therefore, it has to arouse the vigilance of neighboring countries including China.
