China, Look at the Numbers: Japan Threatens Nobody

Ever since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi‘s matter-of-fact comment that, if China attacks Taiwan, Japan might have to get involved, Beijing has been railing nonstop about resurging Japanese militarism.

Japanese militarism?

As is usually the case when the Chinese Communist Party says something, take the opposite, and you’ll likely have the truth.

Japan is a threat to nobody.

It has near-zero strategic “power projection” capability.

Assuming it arrived unscathed, the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) could land its entire Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (all 3,000 of them) on the coast near Shanghai ー and nobody would notice.

The JSDF missed recruitment targets by 50% a couple of years ago. It routinely misses recruitment goals by 20-25% ー and has for years.

It’s half the size it needs to be to carry out all required missions, including defending Japan itself against China, Russia, and North Korea.

How does the JSDF match up with the People’s Liberation Army?

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, aka the Japanese navy, has about 60 surface combatant ships and 24 submarines. Meanwhile, the PLA Navy (PLAN) has over 350 ships and is rapidly building more. It will have over 400 ships before long. As well, the PLAN has over 60 submarines, including a dozen nuclear subs.

Aircraft carriers?

China is in a different league than Japan.

The Japanese navy has two”sort of” carriers capable of handling F-35B fighters. However, they are not comparable to a US Navy carrier.

China’s PLAN has three carriers, with more on the way, and is mirroring US carrier capabilities.

The China Coast Guard similarly outmatches the Japan Coast Guard numbers-wise. Moreover, many CCG ships are built for fighting other ships ー not patrolling to stop illegal fishing, like the Japanese ones.

And there’s more at sea that Japan can’t match.

Read more HERE.