Over the weekend, the Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said the government would increase personnel by nearly 300 starting from April.

 

　　The currently Japanese military is about 225,000 strong and the latest influx will be the biggest increase in 2 decades.

 

　　Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said Japan should pay greater attention to regional concerns.

 

　　"Due to historical reasons, Japan's neighboring countries pay great attention to its military developments. We hope that Japan pursues a path of peaceful development, and respects the concern of regional countries."

 

　　The Japanese move comes amid the continuing disagreements between the two countries over the Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea.