In an article focused on polling results which claim to show that 80-90% of Japan’s people support the buildup of the military announced by Prime Minister Kishida Fumio due to fear of China and Russia, and want closer ties to the U.S. military alliance, Japan’s Nikkei daily nonetheless admits that the opposition parties oppose the buildup.
It notes that “one of the lone voices openly protesting the expansion is former Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo, a retired member of the ruling LDP, who says the path is a mistake. Fukuda calls for a deeper understanding of China’s intentions and boosting efforts to defuse tensions. ‘Can Japan win in a war against China? Nobody would say that we can,’ Fukuda says. ‘Some say the U.S. will help us, but there must be limitations. Japan-U.S. relations are important, but we must avoid a situation where we fight other countries because we have that alliance.’”
