Itsunori Onodera
© AFPJapan's defence minister Itsunori Onodera
Japan defense minister has called for an increase in military spending in face of what has been called significant security issues in the volatile Asia-Pacific region.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Japan needs to boost its army to counter a potential threat from China's rising military power and North Korea's long-range missiles.
"There are various tensions ongoing in Asia, and in some cases, there are countries that even use threats," media outlets quoted Onodera as saying on Tuesday.
The Defense Ministry is after a three-percent rise for its spending in the coming year that would be the biggest request in 22 years.

The ministry believes the funding is needed to meet growing personnel costs and the price of weapons imports.

The developments come as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been also a strong advocate of strengthening Japan's military despite the country's other economic pressures.

This reflects growing concern in Japan amid its strained relations with China over a chain of small islands in the East China Sea.

Beijing has long been engaged in a dispute with Tokyo over the sovereignty of the group of the uninhabited islands, which are known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.

The disputed islands are currently controlled by Japan and form part of the Okinawa Prefecture.

The islands are located near a crucial shipping route and give the owner exclusive oil, mineral and fishing rights in the surrounding waters.

On September 11, 2012, Tokyo signed a deal to buy three of the islands from their private Japanese owner in line with plans to nationalize the archipelago.

The tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have escalated since Japan nationalized the disputed islands.

In late April, Prime Minister Abe said Tokyo would "expel by force" any Chinese individual landing on the islands, following an incident during which eight Chinese vessels entered the disputed waters.

Beijing has also repeatedly criticized Washington's increasing military buildup in the Asia Pacific region as well as its moves to increase military ties with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam.