Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Friday to bolster his country’s defenses, calling the threat from North Korea the gravest security concern Japan has faced since World War II, The Washington post reports.
Outlining his priorities in a policy speech to parliament, Abe described North Korea’s sixth nuclear test earlier this year and two missile launches that flew over Japan as a national crisis.
He promised concrete action to respond to what he called “escalating provocations” by North Korea.
“We will strengthen Japanese defense power, including missile defense capabilities, in order to protect the people’s lives and peace,” he said.
Abe says Japan will take "concrete actions'' under the Japan-US alliance in order to respond to any emergency amid Pyongyang's "escalating provocation.'' He says Japan will further strengthen its missile defense capability.
Japan's defense spending has steadily increased since Abe took office in 2012. Tokyo has said it plans to buy more American missile defense systems.