What Is Japan's Potential Military Might?

What is Japan's potential military might? In light of the recent events involving North Korea, this is not an idle question. Japanese re-armament is probably the biggest X-factor in East Asia, and one that has the potential to make a lot of people nervous.

Since surrendering to the United States in 1945, Japan has chosen to take minimal steps towards military matters, choosing a strictly defensive posture. In fact, their military is not a military at all - they are referred to as self-defense forces. Japan only spends about 1% of its Gross Domestic Product on its self-defense forces. In 2005, this came out to roughly $42.1 billion. This is slightly less than the United Kingdom spent in 2005 ($48.3 billion) - but the UK was spending 2.8% of its GDP.

What did Japan get on this 1% approach? Arguably the best Navy in East Asia. Japan has 40 destroyers, 18 of which have entered service since 1995, with at least two more modern vessels (of the Atago-class) on the way. Japan has acquired eight new submarines (the Oyashio-class), with at least two others on the way. Japan is also building a new class of helicopter destroyer to replace an older class currently in service. One of the designs for this 13,500-ton new helicopter destroyer features a flat deck with an offset superstructure, similar to the small "Harrier carrier" like those used in several European navies.

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