This month Japan marks the anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed more than 200,000 people and ended World War II. But even as Japan's prime minister promises to work towards world peace, the government has announced plans for a "dramatic" increase in defense spending, driven by threats from China, and has left Japan's post-war military behind. Breaking decades of taboos on augmenting
Nuclear Day
On the morning of August 6, 1945, US forces dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing an estimated 140,000. . Thousands more died from radiation sickness in the months and years that followed. Three days after him, US forces dropped her second nuclear bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 75,000 people. The United States says the bombing was necessary to end the war, as many more people died in the Allied invasion of Japan. Alongside survivors, a ceremony was held Saturday to mark the 77th anniversary of the blast at the city's Peace Park, directly below the epicenter of the blast. Japanese government officials and UN Secretary-General António Guterres also attended.
"Almost 13,000 of his nuclear weapons are in arsenals around the world," Guterres told delegations at the ceremony. “And crises with serious nuclear conspiracies are spreading rapidly from the Middle East to the Korean Peninsula to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
G-7 Host
Hiroshima will host the G-7 Summit next year. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to those gathered in Hiroshima:
Japan's Constitution, drafted after its defeat in 1945, states that "the Japanese people forever renounce war as a national sovereignty." But the threat of war approaches its shores.
Chinese threat
China has conducted large-scale live-fire exercises around Taiwan in recent days – in response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei Last week in clear retaliation – sparking fears that Beijing is planning an invasion of an island it claims is part of its territory. says it landed in waters that are part of the exclusive economic zone.
At a press conference in Hiroshima after the atomic bombing ceremony, Prime Minister Kishida said the government had to deal with the crises in Taiwan and Ukraine. He will drastically strengthen the defense force," he said.
Dramatic Change
Japan's Move to Increase Defense Spending and Capabilities Despite Decades of Government Policy Reversals is gaining public support, said Professor Tetsuo Kotani, an analyst for international studies. He was a Senior Fellow of the Japan Institute of International Affairs at Meikai University in Tokyo.
"Russia's invasion of Ukraine has dramatically changed the Japanese public's perception of national security. Japanese people are very worried about China's aggression," Kotani told VOA. Told.
"Also, public opinion polls show that more and more people are in favor of constitutional revision, increased defense spending, and even the introduction of Japanese offensive capabilities."
} Fear of Conflict
Kotani added that Japan could become embroiled in a dispute over Taiwan.
"The assassinated (former Japanese) Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the security of Taiwan and Japan are It is inseparable," Kotani said. ``Therefore, Japanese defense planners have prepared for every possible scenario that could affect Japanese territory.''
Changed Japan's attitude to power. Seventy-seven years later, Japan must face a new reality. A powerful and aggressive China is willing and able to project military power on Japan's doorstep.