Defense ministry seeks record Y5.168 tril budget to develop anti-ship missiles

Defense ministry seeks record Y5.168 tril budget to develop anti-ship missiles

Of course it does. And our grandchildren can pay for it!

Tokyo is determined to defend the uninhabited islets in the East China Sea—administered by Japan as the Senkakus but claimed by China as the Diaoyus—as Beijing steps up its claim.

The fastest and cheaper way to defend those islands is to once again put people there and physically inhabit them.

They used to be inhabited at one time, and could again. Easier to make claims when you actually show possession.

Maybe this is all part of China's sinister plan to defeat Japan. Not through military force, but induce Japan to spend itself into financial ruin.

Abe, of course, is walking right into it, like bugs get drawn to purple light.

Defense ministry seeks record Y5.168 tril budget

go ahead...govt only has to struggle for social security funds.

This sure is being 'advertised' a lot. One wonders if this will goad china into 'making the next (another) move'.

It would be much nicer if some of this money could be put towards daycare facilities. Another handful of the money could be put towards creating a really nice ryokan on one of the Senkaku islands. I'd go... (So long as it is not one of those Y50000 per person per night type of places - too rich for me.)

Now back to monitoring how bad Trudeau will embarrass Canada this week...

What a total and complete waste of money and resources!

Idiocy!

I may be in the minority here, but I think defense like this is necessary with geopolitical threats like China and Russia. Of course people need to pay for those defenses. That's partially what makes Japan one of the safest nations on the planet.

Other people here have already suggested viable options - one being inhabiting the islands, which is something I would support.

If Japan was to match would-be warmonger China's military spending it would have to increase its military spending fourfold. I understand that every country has the right to defend its territory, why should Japan be an exception? Especially when it faces real threats from hostile neighbors.

Heck.... just issue it, have the BoJ buy it and print it... Money of course. Japan is already past the point of no return might as well just keep going.

an anti-ship missile system to defend islands at the center of a territorial dispute with China.

They are NOT islands- they are rocks in the middle of the ocean; or islets at best. When you look at it from that perspective, it just seems like a huge waste of money . Imagine the amount of help and relief to young new families this money could provide.

So many quick to criticize this action. Yet no one stops to think that China's anti-Japan policy and behavior over the last several years is what made this happen.

The government should : 1.think about building a water desalination plant on the Senkakus and encourage interested nearby Okinawans to inhabit the place. There is not much natural water resource on these islands.

provide incentives and subsidies for using the sea around the Senkaku islands for a fish/seafood farming industry. Grant permits for Ryokan and Ecotourism entrepreneurs.

The above suggestions with also give the soldiers stationed on the island a extra sense of purpose, ie: to ensure the safety of the new island setllers and their enterprises, other than garrison duty against those who might venture into territorial waters.

Why don't we ask Nihon TV to relocate dash Island to Senkaku and have Tokio film their weekly episodes there.LoL

As for Senkaku being an island or a rock people had been living there for an extended period of time on their own in the past so there is no argument that it is an island.

One word: Kamikaze.

Who cares about a pension for future generations when you can get politicians and weapons manufacturers rich over a few uninhabited rocks?

As for Senkaku being an island or a rock people had been living there for an extended period of time on their own in the past so there is no argument that it is an island.

Sorry. You are wrong there. They have ALWAYS been uninhabited.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senkaku_Islands

Before WW2 there was a bonito processing factory that a Japanese company operated. If you don't call that people living there I don't know would qualify.

Within your own link;

Around 1900, Japanese entrepreneur Koga Tatsushirō (古賀 辰四郎?) constructed a bonito fish processing plant on the islands, employing over 200 workers. The business failed around 1940

Defense ministry seeks record Y5.168 tril budget to develop anti-ship missiles

5 trillion yen is the aggregate amount of budgets for Land, Maritime and Air Defense Forces of Japan, and is about 1% of 500 trillion yen GDP of Japan.

The budget for developing anti-ship missiles is a tiny tiny fraction of that amount.

Basically it would probably be a modification of one of the existing type (type 10 ASM) for the land launched ASM and the air launched ASM is almost ready for deployment dubbed XASM-3.

Blood and lives and the well being of the Japanese people for Japanese militarism and some pieces of rock- if it were fiction I could wrap my head around it but it is not..........

Just like in USA and most of the western NATO countries peoples taxes are stolen by the worlds military complex. Any excuse is good and in Japans case it is China and the islands that have no use to no one else but American interests thousands of miles from USA. As long each country wants an absolute ownership there will be no solution. Only solution is the joint ownership and joint investment and sharing of benefits with Americans completely out of picture. Same thing can be said for the dispute with Russia, Russians have the islands and possession is nine tents of the law, if Japan was willing to share the the Islands commercially Russians would agree but they will never let them go completely and see the Americans install their bases there in Russias backyard.

Defending your territory is natural Islets with many nautical miles around of sea and mine resources are worth much more than one can imagine Japan and China are still behaving like in the 20th century: an armament race which leads you know where, versus a game of influence by going on site with allies and civilians that is cheaper and more peace spirited. Abe san is diverting financial resources to say that it needs to change constitution so as to enrich his fellow croonies.

God luck Japan to win a ten to one match on your own !

The region needs more deterrents like this.

good move, need to protect their country and citizen, otherwise easily defeated by invaders.

Wise Maneuver Don't use the civilian's and solders for gun fodder do all the fighting remotely and accurately keeping the causalities of war to a minimum on all sides But only use as a deterrent not to start a conflict any where. Seem North Korea seems to be the Most likely Threat it also would need Intercontental ones as well pointing at Little Fat Boy Poyang.

Within your own link; Around 1900, Japanese entrepreneur Koga Tatsushirō (古賀 辰四郎?) constructed a bonito fish processing plant on the islands, employing over 200 workers. The business failed around 1940

Why didn't you include the rest of the sentence? Here is the quote IN FULL.

Around 1900, Japanese entrepreneur Koga Tatsushirō (古賀 辰四郎?) constructed a bonito fish processing plant on the islands, employing over 200 workers. The business failed around 1940 and the islands have remained deserted ever since

Before WW2 there was a bonito processing factory that a Japanese company operated. If you don't call that people living there I don't know would qualify.

Then let me tell you. Houses, apartments, shops. Get it?? a factory that was put there for 30 or 40 years does not qualify.

The rocks were uninhabited before the factory AND after it. They have always been uninhabited.

Aly RustomSEP. 01, 2016 - 03:26PM JST

http://www.japan.go.jp/tomodachi/2016/g7-2016/senkaku_islands.html

After the islands were incorporated into Okinawa Prefecture in 1895, they became inhabited with a population that at its peak topped 200 residents, and a variety of economic activities were conducted there with the government’s approval.

In 1920, after a group of Chinese fishers washed ashore and were rescued in the Senkakus, the consul of the Republic of China in Nagasaki Prefecture sent letters of appreciation to each of the Senkaku residents and other Japanese in Okinawa who were involved in the rescue;

In addition, how could a factory with more than 200 workers on an island in the middle of the sea be operated if the workers did not live on the island?

50% of these funds will be wasted, as is the case with the US Defence budget.

NK is a made up enemy, granted NK makes it easy to do this, but if you go to SK no one worries about being attached by NK. They know better it is all simply a show (with some minor exceptions).

No, this is all about rising the constitution. Pure manipulation of the public, most of whom know better.

With boring regularity, the usual stuff from Mr Abe continues. He has declared that there must be more women in the work force. But, the promise of more day-care facilities for children of female workers has not materialized. Meanwhile, the government continues to panic over the question of birth rates. FAIL! But there is hugely enough money being forced into the national deficit for upgrades to anti-shiping missiles, which if they are ever used may cause WW III. The current leadership is intent on shooting the nation’s feet instead of enabling it to run with its talent and energy. The reasons are wickedly obvious, and they can be clearly explained. But, that is another topic.

In addition, how could a factory with more than 200 workers on an island in the middle of the sea be operated if the workers did not live on the island?

So, just because 200 people AT ITS PEAK of 40 years lived on the island, you want to classify it as inhabited?? I'm sorry- that is not a good definition. There needs to be a history of population. I can buy a big rock and turn it into a prison like Alcatraz was and then call it inhabited? Maybe artificial inhabitation, but there have been NO inhabitants on those islands before or since that factory. No indigenous people or wildlife (except for some moles and albatross). Nothing. Maybe you have a different view of what inhabited is, but I stand by what I said- they always have been uninhabited.

Personally, it would be just WAY smarter to demolish the islands and work out an economic solution to the resources underneath. That way, they don't have to spend a ton of money they don't actually have defending those rocks

In a democracy, we elect politicians to represent us. These politicians are supposed to have very highly developed communication skills. Internationally, our politicians over here meet and talk with those politicians over there to sort out minor differences of opinion, negotiate, resolve disagreements, avoid conflicts, wars, etc.

These skills require TWO WAY communication. That means LISTENING and UNDERSTANDING as well as expressing ideas. It also requires the ability to OBSERVE, SEE THROUGH the rubbish and smoke screens and actually REPRESENT the people who elected them.

Unfortunately Japan doesn't seem to have any of these.

This sounds like its the XASM-3 project. It's expected to be too large to fit inside an F-35 and only has a range of 120+ miles. So either a ship has to get close enough for the enemy to fire back or it has to be delivered by a non-stealth aircraft. Which kind of makes the 15-second warning aspect of the XASM-3 itself redundant, part of the reason the missile program is so expensive is that it is designed to limit the reaction time of the enemy.

I wonder how many missiles Japan could buy from the USA for US$50b? Seems a cheaper option.

Is this preliminrynplan to empty US occupied bases in Japan? Currently, Inada is busy redefining activity of SDF in Africa

Pay now or pay later, as Manila has learned.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/31/now-china-wants-okinawa-site-of-u-s-bases-in-japan.html

WHAT’S YOURS IS MINE - Now China Wants Okinawa, Site of U.S. Bases in Japan - Gordon Chang, 12.13.15

... General Luo ... “For now, let’s not discuss whether they belong to China—they were certainly China’s tributary state,” said Luo to the China News Service. “I am not saying all former tributary states belong to China, but we can say with certainty that the Ryukyus do not belong to Japan.”