Japan aims to boost military tech through drones and AI amid regional threatsJapan's Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi March 6, 2026, attends a meeting with Canada's Defence Minister David McGuinty at the Defence Ministry in Tokyo. The 598-page defense paper adopted by the Cabinet on Tuesday reiterated that China is Japan’s biggest strategic challenge. The annual white paper outlines Japan’s military activity and priorities and analysis of military trends in specific countries. China has consistently increased its military spending without transparency and strengthened nuclear and missile capability extensively and rapidly, the defense paper said. Bolstering defense industry, weapons saleStrengthening arms production and technology is essential to Japan’s military power, the paper said.