The administration endorsed a new defense guideline Friday that focuses on China's growing military activities instead of former Cold War foe Russia and paints North Korea as a regional security threat.
The revised National Defense Program Guideline outlines defense policy for the next 10 years starting with fiscal 2011 and is the first drafted under the leadership of Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his Democratic Party Japan.
The guideline describes China's military rise and other actions as a "matter of concern for the region and the international community."