Asia

With tensions heating up in its backyard, Japan has begun to realise that it has no choice but to beef up its defence capabilities.

FILE: Members of Japan's Self-Defense Force take part in a new year joint military drill alongside U.S., Britain and Australia, at Narashino exercise field in Funabashi, east of Tokyo, Japan January 8, 2023. (REUTERS/Issei Kato)

AMAMI OSHIMA, Kagoshima: Japan is