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☆ Weak yen forces Japan to shrink historic military spending plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Since the plan was unveiled in December, the yen has lost 10% of its value against the dollar, forcing Tokyo to reduce its ambitious defense procurement plan, which was then-calculated to cost $320 billion, the sources said. Details of how Japan is paring back military procurement due to currency fluctuations have not been previously reported. China, which has not ruled out using military force to bring Taiwan under its control, has expressed concern about Japan's military spending plans, accusing it of displaying a "Cold War mentality." Chinooks and seaplanesWith the cuts in its spending power, Japan decided to prioritize spending on advanced U.S.-made frontline weapons such as missiles that could halt advancing Chinese forces, the eight people said. About half that increase was due to the weak yen, said one of the government sources, who was directly involved in those discussions.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Kiyoshi Ota, Christopher Johnstone, Johnstone, Biden, Kishida, spender, Nancy Pelosi's, Yoji Koda Organizations: Japan's, Defense Force, Getty, Reuters, Bank of Japan, Center for Strategic, International Studies, National Security, East, Japan's Ministry of Defense, Embassy, Pentagon, Russian, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Boeing Co, Kawasaki, ShinMaywa Industries, Industry, Maritime Self Defense Force Locations: Tokyo, AFP, Japan, Taiwan, Washington, Beijing, East Asia, U.S, East China, Ukraine, China

Details of how Japan is paring back military procurement due to currency fluctuations have not been previously reported. China, which has not ruled out using military force to bring Taiwan under its control, has expressed concern about Japan's military spending plans, accusing it of displaying a "Cold War mentality." In December, defence ministry officials discussed an order for 34 twin-rotor Chinook transport helicopters at roughly 15 billion yen per aircraft, two of the sources said. She declined to comment on whether the defence ministry had dropped an order for the seaplane. A ministry spokesperson confirmed the companies delivered a letter on Oct 25 to Defence Minister Minoru Kihara urging the government to proceed with the defence procurement as planned.

Persons: Tomohiro, Fumio Kishida, Christopher Johnstone, Johnstone, Biden, Kishida, outlays, spender, Nancy Pelosi's, Yoji Koda, Lockheed Martin, Minoru Kihara, Kevin Maher, Nobuhiro Kubo, Takaya Yamaguchi, Tim Kelly, Yoshifumi Takemoto, Katerina Ang Organizations: Defense Force, East Fuji Maneuver, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Reuters, Bank of Japan, Center for Strategic, International Studies, National Security, East, Japan's Ministry of Defence, Embassy, Pentagon, Russian, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Boeing Co, Kawasaki, Industries, Maritime Self Defense Force, Raytheon, Lockheed, Japan Business Federation, NMV Consulting, U.S . State Department's Office, Japan Affairs, Thomson Locations: Japan, Gotemba, Shizuoka, Taiwan, Tokyo, Washington, Beijing, East Asia, U.S, East China, Ukraine, China, U.S .

Landing of aircraft at night and in bad weather, for instance - crucial to regular offshore carrier operations - remain far from routine, several of the attaches and analysts said. "Carrier operations are a very complicated game, and China's got to figure this out all by itself. A new plane, the KJ-600, designed to perform a similar role to the E-2C/D Hawkeye launched from U.S. carriers, is still in testing, according to the Pentagon's latest annual report on China's military. Several countries operate aircraft carriers but the U.S. remains the most dominant, running 11 carrier battlegroups with global reach. A September editorial published in a magazine run by a PLA weapons manufacturer, titled "Four great advantages the PLA has in attacking Taiwan", did not mention the role of Chinese carriers.

☆ Analysis: How North Korea could use a Pacific 'firing range' to perfect its missiles
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) on Monday, after firing a massive Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Saturday. So far North Korea has fired three variants of the Hwasong-12 intermediate range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean. "As soon as it is out of range, or if it crosses below the horizon, North Korea will be blind." Schiller said he is not aware of any tracking vessels that North Korea positions along the flight path, and for now it doesn't have data relay satellites. If those two conditions are met, then North Korea will have fully demonstrated its deterrence capability against the United States, he said.

[1/2] Participants look around Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force's vessel at a recruiting event in Yokosuka, Japan December 10, 2022. The five-year plan unveiled on Friday will double Japan's defence spending and add new capabilities, including long-range missiles and an expanded cyber warfare unit. "It is just a paper plan and that should be corrected," said Yoji Koda, a retired navy admiral, who commanded the Japanese fleet in 2007-2008. Koda said the plan would limit Japan's ability to fight in situations such as land invasions and sea battles, giving its foes an advantage. Japan's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meeting Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi in Taipei on Friday, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said she expected greater defence cooperation with Japan. "Japan is making a late start, it is like we are 200 metres behind in a 400-metre sprint," he added. China defence spending overtook Japan's at the turn of the century, and now has a military budget more than four times larger. Japan says it wants ship-launched U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles made by Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N) to be part of its new deterrent force. To pay for the military build-up, Kishida's ruling bloc earlier on Friday said it will raise tobacco, corporate and disaster-reconstruction income taxes.

☆ North Korea ICBM may have failed in flight, officials say; Japan residents told to shelter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on March 16, 2022. North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles on Thursday, including a possible failed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that triggered an alert for residents in parts of central and northern Japan to seek shelter. Despite an initial government warning that a missile had overflown Japan, Tokyo later said that was incorrect. Officials in South Korea and Japan said the missile may have been an ICBM, which are North Korea's longest-range weapons, and are designed to carry a nuclear warhead to the other side of the planet. South Korean officials believe the ICBM failed in flight, Yonhap news agency reported, without elaborating.

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