Japan outlines its military build-up plan, citing threats from China, Russia and North Korea

Japan’s government is portraying its accelerating military buildup not only as ?a way to protect the country but as a route to greater prosperity, arguing in ?its latest defence white paper that arms production can support economic growth. 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…