The defense security plan, drawn up in late 2003 or 2004, assumes there is a "small" risk of China forcefully taking a disputed island chain known by Japan as Senkaku and by China as Diaoyu, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said.

The defense security plan reportedly also lays out a scenario of a military conflict between China and Taiwan, with the United States backing Taiwan.

In the scenario, Japan would support such US operations and might come under attack from China.

The defense security plan, which laid out various possibilities for a period between 2004 through 2008, is considered a national secret, the newspaper said.

The plan regards North Korea, China and Russia as countries that could pose threats to Japan, it said.

Relations between China and Japan have deteriorated this year, in part over the Senkaku territorial dispute, memories of World War II and a dispute over rights to energy fields, among other issues.

Although the plan does not expect a Japan-China conflict to become a serious possibility, it shows for the first time that Japanese defense officials formulated military strategies to counter China, the Asahi said.

This reflects a shift from their previous focus on a possible Soviet attack in northern Japan, it said.

The plan reportedly says that while it is possible that North Korea could attack Japan, there is only an "extremely small" risk of Russia striking.

It also says there is a "small possibility" that Japan could come under attack by terrorist groups, the Asahi said.

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