Russia accused Japan on Thursday of abandoning decades of pacifist policy and embracing "unbridled militarization", responding to a $320-billion defence plan announced by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last week.
"It can be clearly seen that Tokyo has embarked on the path of an unprecedented build-up of its own military power, including the acquisition of strike potential," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Kishida's plan will double defence outlays to about 2% of gross domestic product over five years and make Japan the world's third-biggest military spender after the United States and China.
