TOKYO, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Defense Ministry released Tuesday its "Defense of Japan 2026," which continued to portray an "increasingly severe" regional security environment, in an effort to pave the way for revising the country's three key security documents by the end of this year and accelerating its military buildup.
The white paper, presented to the cabinet on the day by Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, retained the wording of the 2025 edition, claiming that the international community is facing its greatest challenge since World War II and has entered a "new era of crisis."
The roughly 600-page report also continued to label China as Japan's "greatest strategic challenge ever," making unwarranted criticisms and deliberately hyping up China's routine military activities and legitimate national defense development, while wantonly distorting the Chinese military's necessary actions to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
It also outlined the security policies pursued by the government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. In March, Japan deployed its land-based Type 25 anti-ship missile in Kumamoto Prefecture. With an upgraded 1,000 km-range, the missile far exceeds the country's territorial defense requirements and possesses clear offensive capabilities, marking Japan's first deployment of long-range missiles with "counterstrike capabilities."
According to the white paper, Japan will further expand such capabilities by developing air-launched and ship-launched variants of the Type 25 missile, advancing research on hypersonic missiles, and introducing foreign-made stand-off missiles.
Compared with previous editions, the new report includes a standalone section on "new forms of warfare" and expands coverage of efforts to strengthen Japan's defense production and technological base. It highlights the growing role of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence in military operations and states that both government and private-sector technological capabilities should be more actively utilized in the field of national security.
Analysts said that by playing up threats in regional security and emphasizing the transformation of combat systems and the expansion of the defense industry in its new white paper, the Japanese government aims to pave the way for revising its three key security documents before the end of the year and further advancing the country's military expansion. ■