By Xinhua
Tokyo : A Japanese defense white paper said Friday that Tokyo will play a more active role in global peacekeeping activities and reinforce its missile defense system.
The annual report, which was endorsed by the cabinet on the day, is the first of its kind since Japan's former Defense Agency was promoted to a ministry in January, when the international peace cooperation activities were made one of the primary missions by its Self-Defense Forces (SDF).
To be more active in international peacekeeping missions, the SDF will improve education and training mechanism, put the forces in readiness and enhance transport capability, according to the white paper.
A new rapid response unit would be installed based on a larger one established in March, it said.
It also expressed strong unease about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear activities and missile development, which it said was a "serious destabilizing factor for the entire East Asian region."
The document underlined the importance of a significant development of missile defense system, including bettering capabilities of its Aegis destroyers and the land-based Patriot interception missiles and introducing new early warning radar system. To that purpose, Japan will earmark more than 157 billion yen (1.28 billion U.S. dollars) in this year's defense spending budget, which stood at 4.8 trillion yen (about 39 billion dollars).
Tokyo also expressed a growing concern over China's military development.
While stressing that the security partnership with the United States should be further strengthened, the white paper noted the efforts to reduce the burden on the Japanese regions hosting the U.S. military.