Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japanese protestors gathered in front of parliament on this wet day of March 28, to decry the decision by the government to purchase 400 Tomahawk missiles from the United States.

The missiles’ deal was approved by Japan’s parliament, on Tuesday as it enacted the fiscal 2023 government budget, which called for general-account spending of 114,381.2 billion yen ($870 billion), an increase of 6.3 percent of the initial budget for fiscal 2022, which also included increased spending on defense.

The protestors raised slogans that said the former communist bloc which includes China and North Korea do not threaten Japan, and claimed the threat was to the United States of America.

Two days ago before the graduates of the National Defense Academy, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio reiterated his intention to face what he called “Chinese, North Korean and Russian threats.”