Japan is changing its defence policy in response to the
shifting balance of power in Asia, analysts say.
Forces will be bolstered in the southern islands, near
to China and its growing military might.
Defences will be scaled down in the north, where they
have been deployed since the Cold War to counter an invasion
from Russia.
Tanks will be cut by a third, but Japan's submarine fleet
will be expanded and fighter jets upgraded.
The guidelines also describe North Korea's missile and
nuclear programmes as a "pressing and serious destabilising
factor".
In response, more Patriot interceptor batteries will
be deployed across Japan, and the number of warships which
can shoot down missiles will be increased.
Japan's military is bigger than the UK's, but is forbidden
by the country's constitution from offensive action.
The new strategic stance will be closely watched in Asia,
where Japan's World War II aggression has been neither
forgotten nor forgiven.
Relations between Japan and China deteriorated sharply
in September, after collisions between a Chinese trawler
and Japanese patrol boats near a chain of disputed islands
in the East China Sea.
