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Takaichi Names AI and Drones as Priorities in Japan’s New Defense Strategy
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Conflict & Security

Takaichi Names AI and Drones as Priorities in Japan’s New Defense Strategy

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency New plan
  • Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan will prioritize artificial intelligence and drones as it revises its three main national security documents.
  • She cited preparations for prolonged conflicts and a changing Indo-Pacific security environment.
  • Japan has expanded defense capabilities and supported arms exports, drawing criticism from China over what it calls growing militarism.

Japan will place artificial intelligence and drones at the center of its new defense strategy, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday. Her government is reviewing the three documents that define the country’s national security and defense policy.

“Countries are competing to develop systems that enable the use of artificial intelligence and the mass deployment of unmanned assets, while preparing for prolonged conflicts,” Takaichi said in a speech at a meeting of senior Self-Defense Forces commanders.

Countries are competing to develop systems that enable the use of artificial intelligence and the mass deployment of unmanned assets, while preparing for prolonged conflicts.

— Sanae TakaichiThe Japanese prime minister described the military trends shaping the strategy review.

She said the same issues would become “key priorities in the review” of the documents, which the government plans to revise during the year. The papers were last updated in 2022, and the government has described the Indo-Pacific security environment as increasingly complex.

Takaichi also warned that yesterday’s peace does not guarantee peace tomorrow. “We cannot protect the lives and peaceful well-being of our citizens unless we are determined to take a bold step toward a new world without fear of change,” she said.

The peace we enjoyed yesterday does not guarantee peace tomorrow.

— Sanae TakaichiTakaichi used the line to argue for changes in Japan’s defense posture.

During Takaichi’s tenure, Japan has taken steps to strengthen its military industry. These include allowing exports of lethal weapons to allied countries and expanding capabilities such as long-range missiles on Japanese territory. China has criticized those policies and accused Tokyo of growing militarism.

Japan’s Defense Ministry recommended in its annual military policy report, published in early August, that the country strengthen its defense industry, promote new forms of warfare using AI and expand domestic production of military equipment.

We cannot protect the lives and peaceful well-being of our citizens unless we are determined to take a bold step toward a new world without fear of change.

— Sanae TakaichiShe urged Japan to adapt its security policy to a changing environment.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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