Japan needs to bolster defense capabilities steadily, says Ishiba
Addressing a meeting of commanders and executives of the country's Self-Defense Forces at the Defense Ministry, Ishiba said that the security environment surrounding Japan has become increasingly tense and complicated, referring to recent moves by China, North Korea, Russia, Israel and Iran.
"The way of fighting keeps changing as the technology develops," Ishiba noted, citing Russia's invasion of Ukraine as an example.
The prime minister also called for the defense officials to continue thinking about how to build effective defense power, in light of the establishment of the Joint Operations Command for the Air, Ground and Maritime SDFs in March this year.
In relation to civilian control, Ishiba said, "It is both the right and the duty of SDF officers to express their opinions to (those in) politics from a professional standpoint."
The meeting of SDF commanders and executives is held to thoroughly set out the country's defense policy.
The first such meeting since 2020 was attended by Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of staff at the SDF's Joint Staff, and other commander-class officials from the GSDF, MSDF and ASDF.
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