Japan to boost military headcount amid island row

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http://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/japan-boost-military-headcount-amid-island-row

Japan is set to boost the number of military personnel, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said yesterday, as the new government led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) tackles a territorial spat with China over East China Sea islets.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led the LDP to a landslide election victory last month, promising to beef up the military in the dispute over the islands called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

The number of personnel, now standing at about 225,000, will increase by 287 in the next fiscal year starting in April.

Mr Onodera also said that the defence budget will grow ¥40 billion (S$543 million), or about 0.8 per cent, in the year from April, posting positive growth for the first time in 11 years.