{"id":68652,"date":"2026-08-04T04:19:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T04:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/68652\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T04:19:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T04:19:47","slug":"japan-says-low-cost-combat-drones-are-essential-to-its-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/68652\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan says low-cost combat drones are essential to its defense"},"content":{"rendered":"

TOKYO (AP) \u2014 Japan needs to adapt to the new methods of warfare like drones and artificial intelligence<\/a> used in Ukraine and the Middle East and strengthen its defense industry, the government said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Japan has bolstered its military capability<\/a> and spending in recent years and has started deploying long-range cruise missiles as a deterrence to China\u2019s military activity.<\/p>\n

The 598-page defense paper adopted by the Cabinet on Tuesday reiterated that China is Japan\u2019s biggest strategic challenge. Japan is alarmed by the growing presence and frequency of Chinese warships in the Pacific Ocean. <\/a><\/p>\n

The annual white paper outlines Japan\u2019s military activity and priorities and analysis of military trends in specific countries. As Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi\u2019s government needs public support for further military buildup and spending and to attract service members, the report has features to appeal to readers including a cartoon on the cover and links to video clips in Japanese, English and Chinese.<\/p>\n

Combat drones for new warfare<\/p>\n

Inspired by the use of drones by Ukraine,<\/a> Japan considers it is essential to adapt to \u201cnew ways of warfare,\u201d the paper said.<\/p>\n

With many countries racing to develop combat drones, Japan\u2019s government prioritizes development of its own for a coastal defense, in combination with long-range missiles.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeed is key,\u201d Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said in early July. <\/p>\n

The Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency recently selected four drone makers out of 38 applicants for a rapid development program and that they will advance to testing by Japan\u2019s navy in early August before a final selection.<\/p>\n

A number of companies are developing similar drones. Toshiba announced Friday plans to jointly develop combat drones with startup Pro Drone.<\/p>\n

Uncrewed weapons could help Japan make up for its decreasing number of service members in a country with a shrinking population. <\/p>\n

Experts say developing fully homemade drones while Japan\u2019s commercial drone market is dominated by Chinese imports would be a challenge. <\/p>\n

Alarmed by China\u2019s activity in the Pacific, Russia and North Korea<\/p>\n

Japan has strengthened its military forces on southwestern islands<\/a> in recent years and has started deploying long-range cruise missiles, as it worries about a conflict in Taiwan, which China claims as its territory<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The paper noted the growing presence Chinese warships and frequency of their activity in the Pacific as a major concern. The Defense Ministry has established a unit dedicated to study Japan\u2019s Pacific strategy and strengthen its defense against China.<\/p>\n

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China has consistently increased its military spending without transparency and strengthened nuclear and missile capability extensively and rapidly, the defense paper said.<\/p>\n

It noted that in last December Chinese aircraft locked their radars<\/a>, considered possible preparation for firing missiles, on Japanese planes during Chinese aircraft carrier drills near southwestern Japan.<\/p>\n

Two Chinese aircraft carriers<\/a> were spotted last June near the southern Japanese island of Iwo Jima for the first time. This triggered Tokyo\u2019s worries about Beijing\u2019s rapidly expanding military activity far beyond its borders and in disputed areas in the East China Sea.<\/p>\n

Tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have escalated since Takaichi said in November<\/a> that Chinese military action against Taiwan could justify Japan\u2019s use of force. <\/p>\n

China\u2019s growing joint military operation with Russia around Japan, including joint bomber flights and warship operations, is also \u201ca grave national security concern,\u201d the paper said.<\/p>\n

It says North Korea\u2019s rapid development of missiles, including hypersonic arsenals, is an \u201cincreasingly serious and pressing threat\u201d and that the North\u2019s growing military ties with Russia and its backing for Moscow\u2019s war in Ukraine are a grave concern.<\/p>\n

Bolstering defense industry, weapons sale<\/p>\n

Strengthening arms production and technology is essential to Japan\u2019s military power, the paper said. The government has been expanding funding for startups and scientific research.<\/p>\n

In a country that had maintained a pacifist pledge since the end of World War II,<\/a> many established companies avoid ties to lethal weapons, but a growing number of startups are showing interest in converting dual-use technology<\/a> for military use, officials say.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s recent scrapping of lethal weapons export ban could also help strengthen the country\u2019s underdeveloped defense industry. <\/p>\n

Weapons technology transfer and joint development and production strengthens both Japanese defense industry base and Japan\u2019s ties with its defense partners, said Koizumi, whose travels to other countries have involved arms sales.<\/p>\n

Japan recently made major deals, including the joint development and transfer of 11 upgraded Mogami-class frigates to Australia. It is discussing a similar deal with New Zealand and has struck a deal to sell retired destroyers to the Philippines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TOKYO (AP) \u2014 Japan needs to adapt to the new methods of warfare like drones and artificial intelligence…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68653,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[373,12,6133,6701,1186,8,1505,449,5765,33685,358,488,3380,213],"class_list":["post-68652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-japan","tag-asia-pacific","tag-china","tag-china-government","tag-drone-surveillance-and-warfare","tag-general-news","tag-japan","tag-japan-government","tag-middle-east","tag-military-and-defense","tag-military-technology","tag-sanae-takaichi","tag-taiwan","tag-war-and-unrest","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}