Tokyo (CNN) -- New military guidelines from Japan say North Korea's behavior and China's modernization and "lack of transparency" combine to raise concerns in the region and around the world.
The document released on Friday morning in Tokyo lays out a sweeping overhaul of Japan's defense strategy, bringing it out of the Cold War era to one that sees potential threats from both North Korea and China.
The key shift, state the guidelines, is moving from conventional, heavy forces to a flexible, modern force that includes increasing the number of submarines in Japan's military.
The new defense strategy, set out as a 10-year plan, realigns heavy armored military forces from the northern section of Japan that pointed north to Russia, and beefs up defense in Japan's southwest area with mobile units that could rapidly engage from the south.
The obvious and most immediate threat is North Korea. In a visit to Japan last week, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, urged Japan to take a larger regional role, including joining American military exercises with South Korea.
The defense guidelines mark a formal acknowledgement by Tokyo that the threat of war on the Korean peninsula is reality, says Korea watcher and Keio University's Peter Beck. CNN
