On Friday, Takahashi Asako warned in her first parliamentary speech after the election about the increasing "coercive" actions by China and pledged to comprehensively adjust the defense strategy, relax restrictions on arms exports, and strengthen key supply chains. In this month's House of Representatives election, she turned her initially fragile majority into a decisive victory. She used this opportunity to propose an agenda aimed at addressing what she sees as rising economic and security threats from China and its regional partners. With her ruling coalition holding more than two-thirds of the seats, she will face almost no substantial political resistance. The policy group of the Liberal Democratic Party, to which Takahashi belongs, proposed on Friday to remove the restriction that limited arms exports to non-lethal equipment (such as bulletproof vests). This move could significantly expand the range of defense equipment Japanese companies can sell overseas. Takahashi has accelerated the military construction plan launched in 2023, and it is expected that Japan's defense spending will double by the end of March, reaching 2% of GDP, making it one of the world's largest defense spenders.
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Japanese Prime Minister Nomination Election
Original: toutiao.com/article/1857713990219786/
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