Record 45 pct in Japan Want SDF Enhancement: Survey

Tokyo, Jan. 9 (Jiji Press)--A record 45.2 pct of people in Japan find it necessary to beef up the country’s Self-Defense Forces, a government survey showed Friday.

The share of respondents in favor of bigger and more capable SDF went up 3.7 percentage points from the previous survey.

Meanwhile, those preferring the status quo accounted for 49.8 pct, down 3.2 points, and those calling for reduction made up 2.2 pct, down 1.4 points.

The results, albeit on a preliminary basis, reflect increasing military and economic pressure from China and a spate of regional conflicts around the globe, experts observe.

The survey also found that the Japan-U.S. security treaty and Japan’s new security legislation partially allowing the country to exercise the right to collective self-defense both won unprecedented public support, with 92.0 pct and 73.4 pct recognizing contribution of the pact and the legal framework to keeping Japan peace and safe, respectively.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]