Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi questioned the accuracy of China¡¯s official military spending figures in a fresh sign that Tokyo is taking a tougher line in response to Beijing¡¯s claims that its regional rival is pursuing ¡°new militarism.¡±
Drawing a contrast with China, Koizumi said that Japan would take a transparent approach to investing in new methods of warfare like drones and artificial intelligence that are needed to keep up with the changing nature of conflict.
¡°Our budgets undergo scrutiny and deliberation in parliament,¡± Koizumi said in an interview Wednesday. ¡°Are the figures they put forward genuinely grounded in fact, backed by evidence, and highly transparent? When doubts arise on those points, how much effort do they put into explaining them?¡±
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