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Japan creates Defence Ministry
 Japan on Friday created a full-fledged Defence Ministry for the first time since World War II, when the United States stripped the defeated country of its right to a military. The upper house voted by a majority, with support from the main opposition Democratic Party, to create the defence agency. The lower house had earlier passed the bill, meaning it becomes law, a parliamentary official said. Post-war Japan has had a Defence Agency with lower standing than full-fledged ministries as the 1947 constitution declared the country to be pacifist. Despite calling its troops the Self-Defence Forces, Japan has one of the worlds biggest military budgets at 4.81 trillion yen (41.6 billion dollars) a year. Posted by: Fred 2006-12-16 |
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