Germany, Japan accelerate postwar military buildup
· UPIJune 15 (Asia Today) -- Germany and Japan are moving away from military restraints maintained for more than 80 years since their defeat in World War II as doubts about U.S. security commitments and growing threats from Russia and China drive major defense expansions.
The two countries are expected to strengthen military cooperation during the Group of Seven summit being held this week in Évian-les-Bains, France, The New York Times reported Sunday.
Germany and Japan, which were aligned as Axis powers during World War II, relied heavily on the United States for their security after the war.
Germany placed particular emphasis on social spending rather than defense after the Cold War ended. That approach has changed as concern about the reliability of the United States has grown, according to the newspaper.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, China's increasingly assertive military and economic policies under President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to reconsider Washington's security commitments have accelerated the shift.
Germany and Japan are now redefining their relationship as a defense partnership involving exchanges of expertise, technology and military equipment, including drones and helicopters.
The G7 summit is expected to make that cooperation more visible.
The cooperation does not represent a revival of the wartime Axis alliance, the Times said. Germany is helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia while Japan describes its military buildup as a defensive response to threats from China and North Korea.
The two countries are increasingly working with Britain, France, Canada and other former wartime adversaries to support what they describe as the rules-based international order.
"Countries that support the rules-based international order must move closer together and clearly demonstrate what we stand for," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said during a visit to a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force base in March.
Germany prepares major defense spending increase
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz laid the financial foundation for a major increase in military spending by securing an easing of constitutional borrowing restrictions shortly before taking office.
German defense spending could eventually exceed the combined military budgets of Britain and France, the Times reported.
Germany has also worked closely with Ukraine on developing and deploying new weapons and has sought discussions with France about extending nuclear deterrence protections to European allies.
Japan has undertaken a similar transformation under conservative Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Takaichi came to power last year after campaigning on a stronger national defense. Her government has advanced plans to deploy long-range missiles in southern Japan and further loosen restrictions on arms exports imposed after World War II.
Japan's defense budget this year totals about $58 billion, or 87.47 trillion won.
Japan also signed a roughly $6.5 billion, or 9.8 trillion won, agreement to supply warships to Australia and is pursuing possible naval export deals with the Philippines and Indonesia, according to the Times.
China and Russia have accused Takaichi's government of reviving Japanese militarism.
Takaichi has rejected that characterization.
"No country can now protect its peace and security by itself," she said, adding that Japan's commitment to remaining a peaceful nation had not changed in more than 80 years.
Military expansion encounters domestic opposition
Both Germany and Japan face significant domestic obstacles as they expand their military capabilities.
About two-thirds of Germans support higher defense spending, according to a recent poll cited by the Times. Germany's armed forces, however, have struggled to attract enough young volunteers in the absence of mandatory military service.
In Japan, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Tokyo this spring against the government's expansion of arms exports and plans to establish a national intelligence agency.
Many protesters said they feared the policies could undermine Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, under which the country renounces war and the use of force to settle international disputes.
Trump has welcomed increased military spending by U.S. allies but offered a more ambiguous response to Japan's buildup.
Referring to Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who oversaw the Allied occupation of Japan after World War II, Trump said he was unsure whether MacArthur would have approved of a rearmed Japan, according to the Times.
Alexandra Sakaki, a Japan specialist at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, said the two countries would have to prepare their citizens for a fundamentally different relationship with their armed forces.
"If policies such as conscription are introduced, society as a whole will have to think about its relationship with the military in a completely different way," Sakaki said. "Japan and Germany must be prepared to persuade the public to support their military vision."
European defense boom strains local communities
Russia's war against Ukraine has driven not only Germany's military buildup but a wider defense industry boom across Europe.
The expansion has promised jobs and economic renewal in towns with military production facilities, but it has also aggravated labor shortages, housing costs and social divisions, The Wall Street Journal reported.
In Barrow-in-Furness, a port town in northwestern England, British defense company BAE Systems is expanding its workforce to about 14,000 employees as it builds nuclear-powered attack submarines under the security partnership among Australia, Britain and the United States.
The company received a $5.4 billion, or 8.14 trillion won, contract connected to the construction of as many as 12 submarines.
The higher wages offered by the shipyard have drawn mechanics, driving instructors, nurses and other workers away from local employers, worsening labor shortages.
Housing costs have also risen sharply.
"We've got weapons of mass destruction, but we haven't got a plasterer," a local restaurant manager told the Journal.
A bartender said the defense expansion was "making this town and breaking it at the same time."
In Bergerac, France, explosives manufacturer Eurenco invested about $231 million to expand its workforce from 200 to 600 people.
The company's annual revenue increased more than threefold, from about $220 million to approximately $670 million.
Local benefits have been limited, however, because many employees commute from outside the area and much of the assembly process is automated, the Journal reported.
Eight people were injured in an explosion at the plant in 2022. The later detection of unauthorized drones over the facility has also caused some prospective residents to reconsider moving to the area.
"We are merely spectators," Bergerac Mayor Fabien Ruet said, arguing that the town had little influence over the rapid industrial expansion.
The experiences of Germany, Japan and European defense manufacturing towns show that military expansion can strengthen national security and generate investment while also creating political, social and economic strains.
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260615010004927