TOKYO, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Japan's House of Councillors on Friday approved the Bill Partially Amending the Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Defense, giving the green light to reorganize and rename the Air Self-Defense Force into "the Air and Space Self-Defense Force."
As the bill had already cleared the House of Representatives in April, its passage in the upper house means it is officially enacted.
According to the legislation, the restructured unit will be launched within fiscal 2026 and will establish a space operations group under the command of a lieutenant general to improve space domain awareness and satellite launch and surveillance capabilities.
The legislation also includes measures to improve benefits for retired Self-Defense Force personnel and upgrades the Ground Self-Defense Force's 15th Brigade, based in Okinawa Prefecture, to a full division.
These developments have continued to heighten concerns in Japan over military expansion.
The Aichi Peace Committee said on social media that the amendments expand military operations into space to enable attacks on other countries, warning that such a move, which it firmly opposes, would push Japan toward military expansion, intensify confrontation, and increase the risk of war.
Mizuho Fukushima, leader of Japan's Social Democratic Party, raised questions in parliament on Thursday, saying that while fundamental issues such as the scope of the exercise of the right of collective self-defense remain unresolved and related definitions remain unclear, the government has treated "space defense" as a given and continued to advance discussions, which she said was problematic.
In recent months, Japan has not only stepped up military deployments across multiple locations but has also repeatedly moved to enact and revise legislation and policy documents to further strengthen its so-called "defense capabilities," fueling public unease. ■
