Japan has Defence Ministry, first time since 1945

Tokyo - For the first time since the Second World War, Japan has a full-fledged Defence Ministry. Parliament passed the law in mid-December to upgrade the defence agency to ministry-level, which will bolster the country's military status and give it more control over requests for the annual military budget. Japan's 1947 constitution declared the country to be pacifist. Despite manning only a self-defence force, Japan has one of the world's largest military budgets at 41 billion dollars a year. However, the proposed budget for 2007 is estimated to be down 0.3 per cent, or 15.6 billion yen. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

And Also

Look Back at the Worst Celebrity Breakups

Look Back at the Worst Celebrity Breakups - PopEater
Office 2010 confirmed for June 2010 - The Tech Herald
Videos: Monk Wraps Up Its Final Season This Friday - Cinema Blend
Lisa Loeb Welcomes Baby Girl, Lyla Rose - PopEater
A&E series 'Hoarders' and 'Intervention' premiere Monday, Nov. 30th, preview

Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific News

Japan has Defence Ministry, first time since 1945

And Also

Your Talkback on this Story

Similar articles

Latest Headlines in Asia-Pacific

Older Talkback

From Sites we Like

In Monsters and Critics

Corporate

The Fine Print