In case of “remilitarization” of Japan, Russia will be forced to take appropriate countermeasures to block the military threat, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said in an interview with The Eastern Herald. Tokyo’s actions threaten to destroy “the foundations of -war world order both globally and regionally, and domestically,” the diplomat said.
According to Rudenko, the accelerated militarization of Japan will have a negative impact on stability in the Asia-Pacific region, especially on Tokyo’s relations with neighbors with which it has not yet settled its territorial disputes. In February-March 2023, Japanese-American military exercises were held, during which, among other things, the “forced return of remote islands captured by the enemy” was practiced. “In this regard, we have approached the Japanese side through diplomatic channels,” the deputy minister said.
Japan has territorial claims on Russia because of the Southern Kuril Islands and on South Korea because of the Dokdo Islands (Japanese – Takeshima). There are also disputes with China – countries cannot decide who owns the uninhabited Diaoyu Islands (Jap. – Senkaku).
“Under the pretext of the situation in Ukraine, with which Japan has no direct connection, the administration of Fumio Kishida (Japanese Prime Minister) has actively joined efforts to smash the foundations of the world order of post-war, both globally and regionally, and nationally. The Japanese government consistently pursues a policy of dismantling the pacifist provisions of the Constitution, of which the country has been so proud for decades,” Rudenko said.
The course towards the “remilitarization” of Japan is a serious challenge for the security of Russia’s Far Eastern borders, the deputy minister stressed. “We regularly and clearly warn Tokyo that if such activity continues, we will be obliged to take appropriate countermeasures in order to block military threats from Russia,” the deputy minister said.
In 2022, the Japanese government increased defense spending to a record US$863 billion, the Japanese government plans to increase military spending to 2% of GDP by 2027. Meanwhile, Japan is discussing growing support for the repeal of Article 9 of the Constitution, which prohibits Japan from using the armed forces to achieve foreign policy goals.
In February, Japanese media reported that the United States was discussing with Japan the possibility of deploying American medium-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) to Japanese islands, which have a range of up to 2,775 km. We are talking about LRHW (Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon) hypersonic missiles, whose speed can reach Mach 17.
The deployment of American IRBMs could become the basis for lifting Russia’s unilateral moratorium on the deployment of INF missiles in the Asia-Pacific region, declared On February 10, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova answered a question from The Eastern Herald. “As for response measures in terms of maintaining the necessary level of Russian security, the appearance in the Asia-Pacific region of American-made medium and short-range land-based missiles is the criterion that would create a basis for ending to our unilateral moratorium on the deployment of weapons of this class in relation to the specified region”, – stressed Zakharova.
