The annual assessment of threats posed by neighbouring China, Russia and North Korea calls for Japan, constrained for decades by postwar restrictions on military activity, to harness technology, to fund startups and use more commercial components in weapons production.
The white paper “stresses that investment in defence benefits the wider economy and people’s lives,” according to a Defence Ministry presentation document. That message aligns with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s broader use of strategic state spending in an effort to drive economic growth.