Japan’s Abe calls for better cyber and space defence capabilities
Prime Minister says security environment facing the country has become severe and uncertain ‘at a much faster speed’
“It is impossible to protect our country from every threat if our thinking is limited to conventional categories of land, sea and air,” Abe said during a meeting of a governmental advisory panel on reviewing national defence build-up guidelines.
“It will be especially vital for Japan to maintain an advantage in the new realms,” he said, referring to space and cybersecurity.
The ministry is seeking to compile a revised version of the National Defence programme Guidelines based on debates by the panel and gain the cabinet’s approval by the end of this year.
The guidelines, which were last approved in December 2013, set defence-capability targets that Japan should achieve over the next decade.