{"id":2199770,"date":"2022-12-23T10:01:10","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T10:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199770"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:10:29","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:10:29","slug":"south-korean-media-diverge-on-whether-japans-new-security-strategy-poses-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/12\/south-korean-media-diverge-on-whether-japans-new-security-strategy-poses-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korean media diverge on whether Japan\u2019s new security strategy poses threat"},"content":{"rendered":"
When Japan unveiled its new <\/span>National Security Strategy<\/span><\/a> (NSS) and two other strategy documents last week, it signaled a significant turning point in Japan\u2019s defense policy as Tokyo enshrined its most significant military buildup since World War II. Amid <\/span>growing threats<\/span><\/a> from regional rivals and criticisms from <\/span>certain segments<\/span><\/a> of the U.S. of free riding, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed his defense and finance ministers to secure the necessary funds to boost yearly defense spending to around 2% of GDP in fiscal 2027.<\/span><\/p>\n With its defense overhaul, Japan describes one of those regional rivals \u2014 China \u2014 as its \u201cgreatest strategic challenge.\u201d China\u2019s growing naval and air forces have been testing Japan\u2019s defense of the Senkaku Islands, which Beijing calls the Diaoyus \u2014 an uninhabited chain of islands in the East China Sea that Japan controls.<\/span><\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, Tokyo\u2019s most notable allies, such as the U.S. and Australia, were quick to welcome this shift in policy. U.S. President Joe Biden was one of the first world leaders to embrace Japan\u2019s NSS when he <\/span>tweeted<\/span><\/a>, \u201cOur alliance is the cornerstone of a free and open Indo-Pacific and we welcome Japan\u2019s contributions to peace and prosperity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Tellingly, Japan\u2019s description of China as its \u201cgreatest strategic challenge\u201d is similar to the U.S. government\u2019s <\/span>designation<\/span><\/a> of China as its \u201cmost consequential geopolitical challenge.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, Beijing <\/span>strongly criticized<\/span><\/a> Japan\u2019s NSS and said it is \u201cfirmly opposed\u201d to China\u2019s designation as Tokyo\u2019s \u201cgreatest strategic challenge.\u201d North Korea also <\/span>accused<\/span><\/a> Japan of \u201ccreating a security crisis\u201d in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n But while the ROK foreign ministry <\/span>protested<\/span><\/a> Japan\u2019s renewed claims over the Dokdo Islets, Seoul\u2019s overall reaction was polite. A spokesperson from the presidential office <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> a shift in Japan\u2019s defense policy is \u201ca matter that can be discussed within the framework of security cooperation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The same cannot be said for South Korean media and society writ large. The country\u2019s nationalist left variously described Japan\u2019s new security strategy as a return to imperial militarism, an affront to Korean sovereignty, or worse, underlining how anti-Japanese feeling continues to bedevil the Yoon administration\u2019s efforts to repair ties.<\/span><\/p>\n