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"Next Year's News This Week" SNS: Asia Letter: Q4 2026 TDK INSIDE By Scott Foster _________ The U.S. stabbed us in the back [...]. The US we knew and loved is gone. Even if things improve, they won't go back to what they were. [...] Military-to-military relations are good. It is the politicians who are causing problems. Japan needs to be able to take care of itself. Japan must be prepared for a protracted war that could last for years, such as the war in Ukraine. Robots may be needed to make up for the shortfall in Self-Defense Force recruits. - Senior Japanese politician, speaking off the record earlier this year Japan Preliminary Defense Document On September 17, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on a preliminary draft of a new Defense Buildup Program document. This is one of the three national-security documents that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her government plan to revise by the end of this year. The draft proposes the acquisition of more than 50,000 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones), of which 10,000 would be capable of long-distance attacks, 1,300 would be for maritime defense, and 7,500 would conduct surveillance. Including small drones of the type used in Ukraine, the figure 80,000 has also been mentioned. |
