Japan mulls rising defense spending to over $500B for 5 years

Japan’s government and ruling coalition are reportedly considering nearly doubling the planned defense spending over the next five years amid Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push to ⁠strengthen the country’s military capabilities, according ⁠to two people familiar with the matter.

If adopted, defense buildup spending for the five years from April ​2027 would be set at 70 ​trillion to ⁠80 trillion yen ($457 billion to $508 billion), up about 1.8 times from the roughly 43 trillion yen allocated under the current five-year plan, which began in fiscal 2023.

The figure could still change as the government compiles the budget towards year-end and revises its three security-related documents. Japan’s defense ministry said it had no comment at this point.

One of the people told Reuters the new spending is expected to fund purchases such as ⁠large ⁠numbers of drones. The same person said a weaker yen has pushed up the cost of defense equipment procurement.

The second person said the final figure could land in the mid-to-late 70 trillion yen range, but questioned whether such a sum would be enough given the security environment in East Asia, adding the final figure was subject to debate between ⁠the government and coalition partners.

Under the current buildup program formulated at the end of 2022, Japan sharply raised planned defense spending from an initial allocation of ​27.5 trillion yen, with a focus on long-range missiles intended for ​counterstrike capabilities, as well as ammunition and spare parts for military equipment.

Japan is exploring structuring its defense around ⁠the interception ‌of ‌long range attacks by deploying drones, reflecting new ⁠methods of fighting seen in conflicts ‌in Ukraine and Iran, government officials told Reuters in September.

Japan’s defense ministry ​has said for some ⁠years that it is developing domestically manufactured long-range missiles ⁠and is also prioritising budget allocations for drones, AI and ⁠space technologies to adapt ​to new forms of warfare.

Source: Daily Sabah