‘Severe and complex’: Japan’s Prime Minister bluntly addresses global geopolitical maelstrom

As war rages in two focal points across the globe and tensions flare in many more, one world leader says he’s had enough.

There are increasing concerns about geopolitical tension. Picture: AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS

World leaders have some serious work to do if we are to see a safe and prosperous decade, a prime minister has warned, as tensions continue to escalate across multiple continents.

As the average taxpayer grapples with the devastating economic impacts of the pandemic, opportunistic leaders have capitalised on the instability to launch some of the most brazen territorial conflicts seen in several years.

Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine shows no signs of ending, Israel and Hamas are wreaking atrocities daily on countless civilians, and North Korea continues to periodically flex its purported might by launching missiles dangerously close to its neighbours.

Add China into the mix and its ongoing claim to the Taiwan Strait, and we have a very delicate situation indeed.

While Australia sits far enough away from the firing line in terms of distance, our role in NATO and our allegiance to the US has put us squarely among the geopolitical tension.

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell last week boldly stated Australia’s AUKUS submarines could be used to fight China in a potential war over Taiwan.

“What we’re confronting now are challenges that require a much deeper engagement with allies and partners, and I think the idea over time will be in a number of potential areas of conflict and in a number of scenarios,” Dr Campbell told the Centre for a New American Security.

Very reassuring.

Planet Earth is at a ‘historic turning point’ as multiple conflicts in the Northern Hemisphere escalate. Picture: Andre T. Richard / US NAVY / AFP

Closer to the hot zone sits Japan, a nation of 125 million that has pledged to maintain peace in the region as the threat of aggression bubbles.

Speaking this week, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the “severe and complex” environment, referencing North Korea’s missiles program and China’s expanding nuclear weapons arsenal.

The Lowy Institute said China had more than 500 active nuclear weapons last year, exceeding earlier estimates by about 100.

“As we are witnessing Russia’s Ukraine aggression, the continuing situation over the Middle East, as well as the situation in East Asia, we are faced with a historic turning point,” Kishida said in Tokyo.

“That is why Japan has made a decision to fundamentally reinforce its defence capabilities and we have greatly changed Japan’s security policy on these fronts.

“In our neighbourhood, there are countries that are developing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, and others that are building up their defence capabilities in an opaque way. Also, there is a unilateral attempt to change the status quo, by force, in both the East China Sea and South China Sea.”

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had condemned the ‘severe and complex’ environment, referencing North Korea’s missiles program and China’s expanding nuclear weapons arsenal. Picture: Eugene Hoshiko / POOL / AFP

A fortnight ago, North Korea claimed that Kishida had requested a summit with Kim Jong-un to stabilise the precarious environment.

But the hermit nation hit back immediately, saying nothing would be gained until Japan drops the issue abducted Japanese citizens.

Kim’s sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, slammed the Japanese PM, accusing the Indo-Pacific nation of “interfering” with North Korea’s “sovereign rights” and openly declared hostilities.

“As long as Japan is hostile toward [North Korea] and infringes our sovereign rights, we will consider it as an enemy that is within our target, not as a friend,” Kim Yo Jong said.

“The prime minister should know that he won’t be able to meet the leadership of our country just because he wants to or just because he’s determined to.”

Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine shows no signs of ending, with NATO now attempting to push through a $100 billion funding package. Picture: Wojtek Radwanski / AFP

If you were to believe Volodymyr Zelensky, the embattled Ukrainian leader entering his third year of war with Russia, World War III “has already begun”.

“We’ve seen this 80 years ago, when the Second World War had started … nobody would be able to predict when the full-scale war would start,” Zelensky said previously.

The most ardent of critics against Western intervention in Ukraine claim the conflict is being used as a proxy war to slowly chip away at the Russian war machine. But the West has remained adamant in supporting Ukraine long-term, with NATO attempting to fast-track a five-year $100 billion support package.

The move is said to be in preparation for the increasingly likely scenario that Donald Trump, who has long criticised America’s lavish foreign aid commitments, will be re-elected as President in November.

The problem for the average global citizen is that the money eventually has to come from somewhere -- our pockets.

North Korea continues to assert its ‘sovereign rights’ to test missiles near Japan and South Korea. Picture: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP

But some analysts say the only way to quell the tension is to build more nuclear weapons.

Earlier this year, Curtin University Dean of Global Futures Professor Joe Siracusa said the world is a “more dangerous” and uncertain place than it has been in recent memory.

“Bolstering or strengthening the nuclear deterrence is very important, it’s the only, really, way of preventing World War Three,” he told Sky News Australia.

“Australia has an important role to play and America has an important role, we’re looking out how we can help each other. And of course while Australia has always been a nuclear target … I think Perth’s become especially an important target for planners say in China or Russia or whatever it is.

“They see the AUKUS development here, not only nuclear-propelled submarines but they’re gong to have nuclear cruise missile type things here.”