Japan is set to increase its defense budget for 2023 to a record 6.8 trillion yen ($55 billion), marking a 20% rise, as it grapples with growing regional security concerns and perceived threats from neighboring China and North Korea.
The cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida approved this budget, part of a larger total budget of 114.4 trillion yen ($863 billion) for the fiscal year starting next April. The increase in military spending, along with higher social security costs due to an aging population, contributed to the overall budget growth.
This move aligns with Japan’s National Security Strategy, which aims to double the country’s defense spending to 2% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2027, following the NATO standard. This strategic shift will eventually elevate Japan’s annual budget to approximately 10 trillion yen ($73 billion), ranking it as the world’s third-largest defense budget, behind the United States and China.
The overarching goal of this strategy is to equip Japan with a “counterstrike capability” that can proactively respond to potential enemy attacks and safeguard itself from perceived threats posed by North Korea, Russia, and China, particularly regarding the situation in Taiwan.
Recent events have added urgency to Japan’s security concerns. On the same day as the budget approval, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles, following joint air drills by South Korea and the United States.
Japan’s defense budget allocation includes the purchase of US-made Tomahawk missiles worth 211.3 billion yen ($1.6 billion) and other long-range cruise missiles capable of targeting China or North Korea.
Additionally, Japan will pay 110 billion yen ($830 million) to the United States for equipment, software, technology transfer, and staff training required for launching the Tomahawk missiles. Notably, this strategic shift marks a historic departure from Japan’s post-World War II exclusively self-defense policy.
The rationale behind this shift lies in China’s rapid military buildup, assertive activities, and its rivalry with the United States, which are viewed as presenting “an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge” to Japan’s peace and international security, as stated in the strategy.
Japan’s plan involves deploying Tomahawk missiles over two years, beginning in 2026-2027, on advanced Aegis radar-equipped destroyers with vertical launch systems designed for ship-to-surface attacks.
Japan also intends to purchase foreign-developed standoff missiles, including a 500km range Joint Strike Missile from Norway for F-35A fighters and Lockheed Martin’s Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, with a range of about 900km, for upgraded F-15s.
To bolster its strike capability and range, Japan will acquire eight more F-35Bs at a cost of 143.5 billion yen ($1.08 billion), capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings on the retrofitted helicopter carriers Izumo and Kaga, which will be jointly operated with the US military.
Over the next five years, Japan will allocate around 5 trillion yen ($37 billion) for standoff, or long-range missiles, with deployment expected in four years. Annual spending for long-range ammunition alone will triple to 828 billion yen ($6.26 billion) in 2023.
Japan also plans to develop various arsenals, including hypersonic weapons, unmanned vehicles, and multi-role vehicles, which may be used in conjunction with the next-generation F-X fighter jet it is developing with Britain and Italy, set for deployment in 2035.
The defense ministry is also working on arsenals to defend remote southern islands, including a disputed East China Sea island controlled by Japan.
Japan will allocate about 100 billion yen ($7.6 million) in 2023 to enhance cybersecurity measures aimed at protecting defense technology and industry.
Japan intends to acquire unmanned aerial vehicles for assaults and reconnaissance, testing various foreign-developed UAVs, including those from Turkey, Israel, the US, and domestically developed options.
Japan asserts that its counterstrike capability is essential and constitutional when responding to indications of an imminent enemy attack. However, critics argue that this stance potentially goes beyond self-defense and challenges Japan’s pacifist post-World War II constitution, which restricts the use of force solely for self-defense.
In 2015, then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe altered the constitutional interpretation of this principle, allowing Japan to engage in collective self-defense and providing a legal basis for military expansion and an increased defense budget.
The move underscores Japan’s commitment to strengthening its defense capabilities amid evolving regional security dynamics.
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