Japanese PM vows to strengthen military

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, at his first troop review yesterday, renewed his pledge to consider “all options” and vowed to create a stronger Self-Defence Force to protect the country amid growing regional threats. Mr Kishida said the security situation around Japan was rapidly changing and that “the reality is severer than ever”, with North Korea continuing to test-fire ballistic missiles while advancing its capability, and China being increasingly assertive in the region. “I will consider all options, including possessing so-called enemy base strike capability, to pursue strengthening of defence power that is necessary,” Mr Kishida said in an address to hundreds of Ground Self-Defence Force members.