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As regional threats rise, Japan eases defense-only strategy

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a press conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. In a major break from its strictly self-defense-only postwar principle, Japan adopted a national security strategy Friday declaring plans to possess preemptive strike capability and cruise missiles within years to give itself more offensive footing against threats from neighboring China and North Korea. (David Mareuil/Pool Photo via AP) Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a press conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. In a major break from its strictly self-defense-only postwar principle, Japan adopted a national security strategy Friday declaring plans to possess preemptive strike capability and cruise missiles within years to give itself more offensive footing against threats from neighboring China and North Korea. (David Mareuil/Pool Photo via AP) FILE - This photo provided by the North Korean government shows the test-firing of what it says a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile at Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Nov. 18, 2022. In a major break from its strictly self-defense-only postwar principle, Japan adopted a national security strategy Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, declaring plans to possess preemptive strike capability and cruise missiles within years to give itself more offensive footing against threats from neighboring China and North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File) FILE - An MV-22 Osprey takes off as Japan Ground Self-Defense Force guards the landing zone during a joint military drill with U.S. Marines in Gotemba, southwest of Tokyo, on March 15, 2022. In a major break from its strictly self-defense-only postwar principle, Japan adopted a national security strategy Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, declaring plans to possess preemptive strike capability and cruise missiles within years to give itself more offensive footing against threats from neighboring China and North Korea. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File) FILE - In this photo provided by the Joint Staff of the Japanese Self-Defense Force, three F-15 warplanes of the Japanese Self-Defense Force, front, and four F-16 fighters of the U.S. Armed Forces fly over the Sea of Japan on May 25, 2022. In a major break from its strictly self-defense-only postwar principle, Japan adopted a national security strategy Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, declaring plans to possess preemptive strike capability and cruise missiles within years to give itself more offensive footing against threats from neighboring China and North Korea. (Joint Staff of the Japanese Self-Defense Force via AP, File) FILE - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gets into the cockpit of a U.S. fighter jet during his visit to the USS Ronald Reagan, in Sagami Bay, southwest of Tokyo on Nov. 6, 2022. In a major break from its strictly self-defense-only postwar principle, Japan adopted a national security strategy Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, declaring plans to possess preemptive strike capability and cruise missiles within years to give itself more offensive footing against threats from neighboring China and North Korea. (Kyodo News via AP, File)
As regional threats rise, Japan eases defense-only strategy