The Japanese moves of arms build-up are now heading to a more dangerous stage.

Under the pretext of “dealing with threats” from its surrounding countries including our country, the Japanese Defense Ministry recently announced that outer space, cyberspace and electromagnetic space would fall under the new areas of defense. On the other hand, it gets overheated in developing and/or purchasing the attack weapons such as unmanned fighters as a new generation weapon of “Self-Defense Forces.”

Yearly snowballing defense expenses are a striking manifestation of ever undisguised attempt by Japan for military build-up.

The Japanese Defense Ministry decided to increase its military expenses for the fiscal year 2021 up to ￥ 5.4898 trillion, the largest ever in its history. A breakdown reveals that Japan would spend ￥ 72.4 billion for militarization of outer space and ￥ 35.7 billion for militarization of cyberspace respectively, and ￥ 124.7 billion for missile development and/or its purchase.

It shows subsequently that the defense expenses of Japan have been skyrocketing since Abe’s assumption of office in 2012, extending to the present regime of Suga.

Japanese intention to build up its military force by allegedly talking about “threats” from its surrounding countries and “changes in its security environment” is crystal clear.

The Japanese pursuit of increasing its defense expenses, defining outer space, cyberspace and electromagnetic space as new areas of its defense and going hell-bent on developing and/or purchasing attack weapons is aimed at gaining military supremacy not only in the region but also on the global scale by possessing the preemptive strike capability and converting “Self-Defense Forces” into offensive forces by all means.

There is no guarantee that these moves would not lead to repeating the overseas invasion.

The international society is highly alerted to the poisonous weed of vendetta growing wild on the political soil of Japan where “spirits” of Yasukuni Shrine are wandering around and the descendants of war criminal state grow up, infused with the viewpoints of militarist history and take over the power in an unbridled manner.

There is a saying that they that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind.

The gravest crime committed by Japan – having inflicted the catastrophic disasters upon the peoples of Korea and other Asian countries, but not making any proper apology and compensation as yet, thus adding more and more to its crime – will inevitably reap the whirlwind of punishment.

Japan must be well aware of the devastating consequence that it will likely invite by clinging to ever dangerous arms build-up and pouring an astronomical amount of defense expenses even into the outer space, not being satisfied with doing it in the air, on land and at sea.

Ra Guk Chol

Researcher of the Institute for Studies of Japan,

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DPRK