TOKYO, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Japan's main opposition bloc criticized Wednesday that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's decision to acquire "enemy base strike capabilities" is in violation of international law.
The opposition was raised during the 211th ordinary session of Japan's parliament which began Monday when Kishida in his speech said that it is necessary for Japan to have the so-called "counterstrike capability," or "enemy base strike capabilities."
Kishida, also president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said to achieve such goals, Japan will increase its total defense spending to about 43 trillion yen (331.18 billion U.S. dollars) over the next five fiscal years, partly financed by taxes.
During the plenary session of the lower house, Kenta Izumi, head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said the counterstrike capability could be a "preemptive" approach that violates international law, describing Kishida's defense tax hike as a "reckless decision."
During the 150-day session through June 21, Kishida's intention of military expansion to boost Japan's defense capability will be among hot-debated issues, local media reported.
In December 2022, the Japanese government decided to update three security and defense-related documents including the National Security Strategy, marking a significant change to its post-war security policies despite wide opposition.
Aimed at so-called "enemy base strike capabilities," the country will acquire the capability to directly attack another country's territory in case of emergency, according to the documents greenlighted by Kishida's cabinet.
The guidelines also stipulated the reorganization of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and a great increase in Japan's military expenditure for the next five years.
Analysts said the release of the documents marked a fundamental shift in Japan's post-war security ideology and defense policy, in complete violation of its exclusively defense-oriented policy and pacifism embodied in the Constitution of Japan. ■