Japan announced plans for the largest military buildup since World War II on the occasion of the US-China power struggle, has begun to make a full-fledged move in the new year.
On 9 September, the Nippon Keizai Shimbun reported, "The United States is finalizing a plan to extend its 'security umbrella' over Japan into space to protect satellites critical to military surveillance and operations." According to reports, it is expected to be included in both the "2+2" security talks between the foreign and defense ministers of the United States and Japan to be held in Washington DC on 11 March (local time) and the joint statement of the US-Japan summit talks on 13 July.
Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, which stipulates U.S. defense obligations in the event of an armed attack on Japan, included only land, sea, and air domains, but it was expanded to cyberspace in 2019 and this time to include space. This is a joint response between the United States and Japan at a time when the military role of satellites is increasing, and there is an analysis that China and Russia are developing missile and laser weapons that destroy satellites.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida embarked on a tour of five of the Group of Seven (G7) members on the day. Starting with talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, France, the first stop of the day, he is scheduled to hold talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorga Meloni in Rome on the 10th, British Prime Minister Rishi Sounac in London on the 11th, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa on the 12th.
Finally, on the 13th, he will hold a summit meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington, DC. The summit is expected to address a variety of issues, including economic security, intensifying military tensions with China and North Korea, and the war in Ukraine. In particular, ahead of the G7 Summit to be held in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 19~21, military cooperation discussions are expected to be a key agenda. [SeoulShinMoon]