Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi pledged Thursday at a regional defense forum to uphold the country's exclusively defense-oriented policy, in an apparent response to China's claims that Japan's defense buildup plans mark a revival of its past militarism.Koizumi said at an expanded meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations defense ministers in the Philippines that Japan will "lead by example in transparency" as it works to update its key security documents by year-end in response to the severe security environment it faces.At the gathering in Cebu, Koizumi also explained to…READ FULL ARTICLE
