The Cabinet of The Japanese government has approved an increase in the defense budget. This is the ninth consecutive year that Japan has increased its defense budget. The budget includes allocations for the development of long-range cruise missiles and stealth fighter jets to counter threats from China and North Korea.
The Japanese government’s proposed budget for the 2021 program reaches a record-breaking level of $51.7 billion, a 1.1 percent increase over the current fiscal year. It is the first defense budget proposed by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga since he took office. The budget will be submitted to the Japanese Diet for passage early next year.
The defense budget is part of Japan’s total national budget of $1.03 trillion. Japan’s next fiscal year begins in April next year.
The new defense budget includes funds to boost Japan’s missile capabilities, including $324 million for the development of long-range anti-ship missiles that can be launched from cruisers or fighter jets and $144 million for JSM long-range missiles mounted on F-35 fighter jets.
This is part of a new missile deterrence plan adopted by the Kan cabinet last Friday, which aims to allow Japan to expand missile deployments in a number of regions. Those areas include some islands in the East China Sea that are under dispute with China over sovereignty.
The Kan administration has followed the defense policy of the previous Shinzo Abe administration. Shinzo Abe, who is considered a military hawk, has been in power for nearly eight years, during which Japan has expanded the areas in which its armed forces operate internationally. The Japanese government took this initiative against the backdrop of perceived growing threats from China and North Korea.
Tokyo has repeatedly stated that two neighboring countries, China and North Korea, are threats to regional security. In response, Japan has examined the possibility of developing first strikes against enemy bases to protect against the looming threat.
Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan has also increased its purchases of expensive military equipment from the United States, such as F-35 fighter jets and missile defense systems. At the same time, Japan’s Self-Defense Forces are increasingly operating in tandem with U.S. forces. In addition, Prime Minister Abe’s government reinterpreted Japan and the Constitution in 2015 to allow Japan to use force for self-defense as well as defense of allied nations.
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