Key Takeaway:
- Japan’s cabinet approved a defense budget of 5.4 trillion yen ($47.2 billion) for the year starting in April.
- The figure notes the 10th straight increase in annual defense spending and exceeds a ceiling of 1% of the gross domestic product that the pacifist country has maintained mainly for decades.
Japan’s cabinet approved a defense budget of 5.4 trillion yen ($47.2 billion) for the year starting in April. It seeks to strengthen its ability to remove off threats from China.
The figure notes the 10th straight increase in annual defense spending and exceeds a ceiling of 1% of the gross domestic product that the pacifist country has maintained mainly for decades. The plan follows record defense spending in a supplementary budget passed by parliament this week.
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As per Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Japan’s military budget is modest compared with its ally, the U.S., at an estimated $778 billion for 2020, and China at $252 billion. The budget might be passed by parliament before officially enacted next year.
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The Japan, U.S., Reach Deal on Payments for Hosting American Troops. Ties between Japan and China turned chilly after Beijing’s clampdown on Hong Kong in 2020, and ships from both countries carry on to chase one another around islands they both claim in the East China Sea. Japanese officials, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, have also become increasingly outspoken about preparing for a contingency around Taiwan.
The current year’s extra budget and next year’s budget together include:
- Seventy-nine billion yen for space-related activities and 34 billion yen for cybersecurity projects increased sharply in the previous year.
- More than a hundred billion yen for the development of a next-generation plane.
- Around 128 billion yen for 12 Lockheed-Martin F-35 planes.
Source-CTV News
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