Source: Global Times
There have been different opinions about how strong Japan's military strength is, so we might as well understand it from the perspective of numbers.
Number of self-defense forces. In 2006, the total number of Japanese Self-Defense Forces was about 260,000, including 0/60,000 on the ground, 46,000 at sea, 47,000 in the air, 503 in the Joint Staff and 0/950 in the Intelligence Headquarters. In addition, the Japanese Self-Defense Force has a reserve of 48,000 people and an emergency reserve of 8,300 people, which can quickly replenish combat forces according to wartime needs. Although the number of 260,000 troops is small, the allocation of troops per square kilometer is 1.4, far exceeding that of China (0.23) and Russia (0.07).
Equipment level. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force is equipped with 370 fighters, of which nearly 76% are third-generation fighters. The proportion of three generations of fighters in South Korea, a powerful Asian air force, is only 47%. At present, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is equipped with about 160 ships of various types, with a total tonnage of over 450,000 tons, including five Aegis destroyers, at least 16 submarines and 1 quasi-aircraft carriers, with a tonnage of 1.35 million tons. The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force has about 1 0,000 tanks, about 1 0,300 armored vehicles and about 6,400 guns. The overall performance of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces' weapons and equipment is in a leading position in Asia, and some of the equipment is even more advanced than the US military.
Military strength. Japan's military production implements a "combination of military and civilian" system, and at least 1500 enterprises participate in military production. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, mitsubishi electric and other enterprises have strong military production capacity, and can build advanced weapons such as airplanes, ships, tanks and cannons, such as Patriot missiles and AH-64D Apache helicopter gunships. Japanese private enterprises have great ability to transform military products into production. It is estimated that if 5% of Japan's automobile production lines are converted into tanks, the annual output of tanks can reach 65,438+200,000; If 20% of shipbuilding capacity is converted into warships, 700,000 tons of warships can be produced every year.
The level of military science and technology. In 2006, Japan's military scientific research funds reached171400 million yen, an increase of more than 20 times in 38 years. The high investment of the government has enabled Japan's military science and technology to seize the commanding heights in many fields, such as semiconductors, microelectronics, aerospace, nuclear energy, high-speed computers, artificial intelligence, etc., and to maintain a relatively leading position in the fields of software, radar, communications, etc. For example, there are nearly 50 nuclear power plants in Japan, and the H-2A rocket can send 65,438+00 tons of payload into low-earth orbit.
War potential. By the end of 2004, the working-age male population in Japan was 33.06 million. Because Japan has always attached great importance to the backbone of the reserve forces, among the active forces, officers above the second lieutenant account for about 20%, and non-commissioned officers account for about 55%, ranking first in developed countries, and can be quickly formed into millions of troops once needed. Japan remains the second largest economy in the world, with nearly $900 billion in foreign exchange reserves. All these provided a reliable financial guarantee for Japan's wartime mobilization. (Special correspondent Yi Xin)