Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said on Friday Japan needs to boost its current defense capabilities.

Earlier on the day, the Cabinet approved three key documents to revamp the country's defense strategy. One of the new policies gives the country the capability to launch counterstrikes under specific circumstances.

Kishida told reporters, "Missile technologies are rapidly evolving. And There's a possibility of saturation attacks with massive numbers of missile launches at once. This is the harsh environment surrounding Japan and it is indispensable to hold counterstrike capabilities that would be a deterrent force strong enough to make the opponent abandon its aims of its attack."

Kishida says the government plans to spend about 315 billion dollars on defense over the next five years.

The plan is to increase defense spending to two percent of Japan's GDP in fiscal 2027.