In 2012, Japan laid claim to a string of eight tiny, uninhabited islands by buying them from
a
private owner.
The problem is, China and Taiwan also lay claim those same islands.
Recently,
this territorial dispute has become a volatile issue -- and one that some reporters have
even
suggested could trigger another world war.
Obviously, that’s a pretty unlikely scenario, but it
does raise the question - how powerful is Japan?
Well, Japan is an economic giant - but they also have a stunted military.
The CIA reports that
by design, they spend only 1% of their total GDP on national defense.
After World War II, the
allied forces made Japan revise their constitution and add an article stating that: “the Japanese
people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use
of
force as a means of settling international disputes.”
Then, in the 1960s, to further solidify that mandate, Japan and the US signed the
Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, which gave assurance to Japan that the
United States would defend them against any threats.
It also gave the US access to and control over a few military bases on Japanese
land.So that’s why Japan’s military is currently so small.
They have approximately
250,000 active military personnel, which ranks them 22nd in active military manpower.
So does this mean Japan isn’t powerful?
No.
Economically and politically, Japan is
a global leader.
Their GDP, which is valued at almost 6 trillion dollars, ranks third in
the world.
Huge tech and machinery companies like Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Toshiba
produce some of the finest electronics, automobiles, and military gear on the market.
They also have enormous political power.
They provide 11% of the UN’s budget,
making them second only to the US in that respect, and they have extremely close
ties with the United States.
Plus, their economy has remained strong despite multiple
recessions as well as the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear disaster.
If Japan were to expand
their military, they would surely become an international superpower, but as of now
that doesn’t seem like a real possibility, as recent polls show the majority of Japanese
citizens prefer their current military arrangement.