In response to last year's terrorist attacks against the United States, the government's annual defense white paper, released Friday, emphasizes the unstable international security situation and the importance of the Self-Defense Forces in dealing with new types of threats.

The latest edition of the report, compiled by the Defense Agency and approved by the Cabinet on Friday morning, says, "international society has recognized terrorism as what should be called a new threat and people have realized they are living in a new 'age of anxiety' (following Sept. 11)."

The subsequent U.S.-led campaign against terrorism demonstrated "the overwhelming power" of the U.S., but also underscored the importance of international cooperation in dealing with such threats, it says.

Since November, Japan has deployed Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels to the Indian Ocean to provide logistic support to U.S. forces in operations in Afghanistan, under the terms of special legislation enacted shortly after the attacks.

The report also underscores the continuing instability in the Asia-Pacific region, saying the region, "has diversities and complexities clearly different from those in Europe and other regions."

Noting that economic differences between countries in the region can be sources of cross-border conflicts and terrorism, the report identifies economic stability as the key to the region's security. In that sense, it goes on to say, Japan's continuing economic slump is seen as a potentially negative factor.

The report also warns of recent actions by North Korea and China.

For the first time, the defense report refers to the alleged kidnapping of Japanese citizens by North Korean agents. Tokyo suspects that at least 11 Japanese were abducted in the 1970s and 1980s.

It also names North Korea and Iraq as countries that possess biological and chemical weapons. North Korea is believed to have large stockpiles of chemical agents and is reportedly capable of producing biological weapons, it says.

The report expresses concern over double-digit growth in China's defense spending, for the 14th consecutive year, citing the deployment of more short-range ballistic missiles along the Taiwan Straits.

Pointing out that Beijing failed to disclose the total amount of its defense budget this year, the report says China's defense policy has become "increasingly less transparent."

This year's white paper also emphasizes the importance of the SDF's role in dealing with various emergencies other than conventional conflicts, including terrorism, guerrilla attacks, the intrusion of spy vessels and natural disasters.

It goes on to explain measures taken by the government last year to allow the SDF to be more actively involved in dealing with unidentified ships and possible guerrilla attacks, including the revised law to ease regulations on the use of weapons by SDF personnel.

This year's report also devotes a large amount of space to a set of government bills defining Japan's response to foreign military attacks.

The legislation, the first of its kind since World War II, was submitted to the Diet session that ended Wednesday, but was carried over to the next session of the legislature, scheduled to convene in the fall.