Japan promotes China as bigger threat than nuclear-armed N.Korea

Record ID: 1433852

  • Title: Japan promotes China as bigger threat than nuclear-armed N.Korea
  • Date: 27th September 2019
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (SEPTEMBER 27, 2019) (REUTERS) JAPANESE DEFENCE MINISTER TARO KONO ENTERING VENUE OF NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE DEFENCE MINISTER TARO KONO SAYING: "The fundamental purpose of defence is to let people understand fully so that they support Japan's security environment and how the Self-Defence Force will deal with this. I hope many people will read the Defence White Paper for themselves." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE DEFENCE MINISTER TARO KONO SAYING: "The reality is that China is rapidly increasing military spending. We need more pages (details) so people can grasp that." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE DEFENCE MINISTER TARO KONO SAYING: "China is deploying air and sea assets in the western Pacific and through the Tsushima Strait into the Sea of Japan with greater frequency, so we cannot say there is no concern on this matter." KONO LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 11th October 2019 06:15
  • Keywords: Japanese Defence Minister Taro Kono Defence military China Japan North Korea
  • Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • City: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Defence,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001AYFLC93
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:China's growing military might has replaced North Korean belligerence as the main security threat to Tokyo, Japan's Defence Minister Taro Kono said on Friday (September 27), citing the country's annual defense review.
    Kono said China was rapidly increasing military spending and more attention was needed to understand that shift.
    The document's security assessment on China comes after a section on Japan's ally, the United States, the first time Beijing has achieved second place in the Defence White Paper and pushing North Korea into third position.
    Once largely confined to operating close to the Chinese coast, Beijing now routinely sends its air and sea patrols near Japan's western Okinawa islands and into the Western Pacific, raising concerns in Tokyo.
    Japan has raised defense spending by a tenth over the past seven years to counter military advances by Beijing and Pyongyang, including defenses against North Korean missiles which may carry nuclear warheads, the paper said.
    (Production: Masashi Kato, Akiko Okamoto)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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