Japan's cabinet approved a defense white paper for 2017 on Tuesday, which, while summarizing Japan's defense policy changes, once again devoted a large part to mudding China's normal maritime activities to justify Japan's own militarization.
In the over-560-page white paper, Japan devoted 34 pages to making irresponsible remarks on China's national defense system and mudding China's normal and justified maritime activities in the East and South China Seas as "attempts to change the status quo by coercion."
Analysts here believed that by playing up the so-called China threat, the Abe administration is attempting to make excuses for its constant expansion of Japan's military power.
In the white paper, Japan specified its defense policies and changes in defense strategy since last July, including the progress it made in building up its defense power, its ever-rising military expenses, and its signing of cooperation contracts with multiple countries on exports of arms and technology.
The white paper also devoted a special chapter to the highly controversial security laws which was forcefully enacted and allow Japanese forces to fight abroad, claiming that the laws increased the deterrence of Japan's Self-Defense Forces, ignoring the fact that the majority of legal experts in the country regarded the laws unconstitutional.
Coming amid heightened tension in the Korean Peninsular, the annual white paper, also highlighted threat from the ballistic missile and nuclear programs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, saying that they reached "a new level of threat" to Japan and the international community.
The white paper also stressed the importance of Japan-U.S. Military alliance, saying that the alliance was growingly important under the current severe security situations surrounding Japan.
Regarding the planned relocation of the U.S. air base Futenma in Okinawa, the document said that relocation to Henoko within the prefecture is the only solution, despite the wish of the Okinawa people to move the base out of the prefecture.
Japan released its first white paper on defense in 1970 and has been compiling new versions annually since 1976.
