Japan has approved a record defense budget of $56 billion for the next fiscal year, which includes sending Patriot missiles to the US. The move is in line with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s goal of doubling defense spending over the next few years. The budget will also accelerate the deployment of long-range cruise missiles that can hit targets in China and Russia. Japan plans to spend 75.5 billion yen ($530m) to develop glide-phase interceptors with the United States that are expected to be deployed around North Korea and Russia. The country’s ban on the export of lethal weapons has limited the scope of its efforts to develop its military power, but the government has partially lifted the ban on lethal weapons exports, allowing shipments of weapons to other countries. Japan plans to spend 43 trillion yen ($300bn) through 2027 to bolster its military power, which would make Japan the world’s third-biggest military spender after the United States and China.
Japan’s defense budget
Japan’s defense budget has been increasing in recent years. In 2021, Japan’s military spending/defense budget was $54.12 billion, a 4.14% increase from 2020. The military budget finances employee salaries and training costs, the maintenance of equipment and facilities, support of new or ongoing operations, and the development and procurement of new weapons, equipment, and vehicles. The 2023 budget for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) totals 6.8 trillion yen ($52 billion), which is 26% higher than the JSDF budget for 2022, the largest year-on-year nominal increase in planned military spending since at least 1952. The budget is the first under Japan’s new National Security Strategy (NSS), which includes a target to bring spending on ‘defense and other outlays’ up to 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2023.
Japan’s military policy
Japan has a pacifist post-war constitution, which limits its military capacity to ostensibly defensive measures. However, it updated key security and defense policies last year, explicitly outlining the challenge posed by China and setting a goal of doubling defense spending to 5 trillion yen ($44 billion) by 2025. The reinforcement of its strike capability is a break from its post-World War II principle of exclusively defense-oriented policy. Japan wants to dramatically expand its defense capacity because it has been alarmed by China’s military expansion and North Korea’s missile launches and the likelihood of future nuclear tests. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also stoked fears that China may move to take over Taiwan, a self-governed democracy claimed by Beijing.
Conclusion
Japan has approved a record defense budget of $56 billion for the next fiscal year, which includes sending Patriot missiles to the US. The move is in line with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s goal of doubling defense spending over the next few years. Japan plans to spend 43 trillion yen ($300bn) through 2027 to bolster its military power, which would make Japan the world’s third-biggest military spender after the United States and China. The reinforcement of its strike capability is a break from its post-World War II principle of exclusively defense-oriented policy. Japan wants to dramatically expand its defense capacity because it has been alarmed by China’s military expansion and North Korea’s missile launches and the likelihood of future nuclear tests.
