Japan prepares to raise five-year defense spending to 60 trillion yen
Japan is preparing to raise its defense spending to 60 trillion yen over five years, up from about 43 trillion in its current plan. Reports say the move is drawing concern at home over the burden on the public.
Japan's government is preparing to lift its defense spending to 60 trillion yen (about 376 billion US dollars) across the next five years, according to reports by Gorkhapatra, Nagarik News, Lokaantar and Shilapatra. The money would cover fiscal years 2027 to 2031. Gorkhapatra and Shilapatra credit Japan's Kyodo News for the report that the government plans to put this budget forward.
What the revised plan involves
Under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the government intends to give priority to buying drones, missiles and ammunition in large quantities, the reports say. To carry this out, it is preparing to revise three core national security documents that were drawn up at the end of 2022. Those documents set a target of about 43 trillion yen in defense spending for the five fiscal years from 2023 to 2027. The government plans to complete the revision by the end of this year.
Concern and debate at home
Japan's defense budget has climbed steadily in recent years and has reached record levels, Gorkhapatra and Lokaantar reported, and that has fed worry and opposition inside the country. According to Lokaantar and Shilapatra, Japanese citizens have demonstrated repeatedly in various places this year against the government's military buildup, the continuing rises in the defense budget and the extra financial burden on ordinary people.
Shilapatra reported that the Japanese newspaper Tokyo Shimbun has commented that rising defense spending could squeeze the budget set aside for people's daily lives, social services and welfare programs. Nagarik News reported that the Defense Ministry and the Finance Ministry are in talks over the size of the budget and how to manage the funding. Shilapatra added that the proposed budget looks set to sharpen the debate over security policy and public spending priorities in the years ahead.