The Japanese government's decision to increase its defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product has grabbed headlines around the world.
Given the financial challenges that the nation is facing, Tokyo will obviously want to carefully consider the most efficient way to provide a complete 360-degree defense strategy before committing trillions of yen that the country cannot easily fund.
A significant amount of the budget increase will be used to purchase new weapons, including those that will give the Self-Defense Forces counterstrike capabilities. Japan’s prioritization of these assets is understandably targeted at the countries that pose the most immediate and severe security threats: China and North Korea. But those threats largely come from the north and west of the country.