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Chinese press ducking coverage of Japanese military budget+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)BEIJING, Jan. 9_(Kyodo) _ The Chinese news media have declined to report the details of Japan's military spending despite an eight-month long information drive by the Japanese Embassy, an embassy official said Monday. Since May, 10 Chinese newspaper and magazine journalists have received copies of an 18-page, Chinese-language summary of Japan's military spending and attended briefings on the differences between Japan's and China's military spending, embassy spokesman Keiji Ide said. But he said none had written stories. "I have serious concerns that the (Chinese public) doesn't know the facts," Ide said. "They just get information from Chinese authorities, and it's not balanced." Chinese officials say Japan spends more than China on its military and hint that the Self-Defense Forces could threaten their Asian neighbors. The Japanese defense budget for fiscal 2004 was about $41.5 billion, compared with China's $25.6 billion, despite Japan's smaller population and land size. Officials in Tokyo have said Japan should be concerned about China's military. The Japanese Defense Agency said in August that China has more ground troops than any other nation and uses undisclosed amounts of money from other government departments for military research, development and equipment procurement. The 10 Chinese journalists learned from the embassy briefings and its report that 45 percent of Japan's military budget goes to salaries and provisions for soldiers, who earn about $1,500 a month, Ide said. Chinese soldiers do not earn a salary, he added, which "amazes" Chinese journalists. As much as 9 percent of Japan's budget pays for sound-proofing the windows of civilian homes near noisy military bases, the Chinese reporters also learned, and Japan spends more on weapons because, unlike China, it does not sell arms abroad. Exports allow mass production and lower production costs. The United States, Britain and France outspend Japan on their militaries, the embassy told journalists at the briefings. Chinese reporters normally need permission from higher authorities to cover this type of topic, said Peking University mass communications instructor Li Kun. "I assume there must be some kind of rule," Li said. "Politics and the military, especially between China and Japan, that's especially sensitive." |