Japan’s Cabinet OKs record $56 billion defense budget for 2024 to accelerate strike capability

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s defense spending will surge more than 16% next year under a record military budget approved Friday by the Cabinet that will accelerate deployment of long-range cruise missiles that can hit targets in China or North Korea.

It also will further fortify the military with F-35 stealth combat jets and other American weapons as Japanese troops increasingly work with allies and take on more offensive roles.

The 7.95 trillion-yen ($56 billion) budget plan for the 2024 fiscal year beginning March marks the second year of a five-year military buildup program under a new security strategy Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government adopted a year ago. The reinforcement of strike capability under the strategy is a major break from Japan’s postwar principle of limiting use of force to self-defense.

Japan plans to spend 43 trillion yen ($300 billion) through 2027 to bolster military power and nearly double its annual spending to around 10 trillion yen ($68 billion), making Japan the world’s third-biggest military spender after the United States and China.

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The move further boosts Japan’s continuous arms spending growth for a 12th year. The previous record was last year’s 6.8 trillion yen budget.

The centerpiece of the 2024 budget is early deployment of “standoff” missiles that officials say are needed to reinforce air defenses, especially to protect Japan’s southwestern islands in case a conflict should erupt between China and Taiwan.

Some 734 billion yen ($5.15 billion) is earmarked for Type-12 cruise missiles and U.S.-made Tomahawks as well as development of next generation long-range missiles. Japan will also spend more than 80 billion yen ($562 million) for the development of hypersonic guided missiles with a range of 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles).

Defense Minister Minoru Kihara announced earlier this month a decision to bring forward deployment of some Tomahawks and Type-12s by the end of March 2026, a year before the original target. Officials said the move is a result of Japan facing its “severest” security environment in the postwar era that has also led it to step up joint operations with the U.S., Australia, Britain and other friendly nations.

As a country of a rapidly aging and shrinking population, funding the surge in military spending as well as securing necessary personnel is not easy. The government is improving salary, welfare and other conditions to lure more service members.

Defense ministry officials said the budget addresses the cost impact of a weaker yen and price increase through measures such as bulk purchases and long-term contracts.

The budget plan still needs approval by the parliament when it reconvenes early next year.

The budget also includes 1.25 trillion yen ($8.78 billion) to bolster Japan’s missile defense systems, including construction of two Aegis-equipped warships for deployment in 2027-2028 at a cost of 373 billion yen ($2.62 billion).

The warships are to have Lockheed Martin SPY-7 radar that officials say could locate harder-to-detect missile launches, including those on a high-arch trajectory that North Korea has often used to test-fire missiles, including the inter-continental ballistic missile launched this week.

Japan will spend 75.5 billion yen ($530 million) for joint development of glide-phase interceptors with the United States to be deployed around 2030 to counter hypersonic missiles being developed by China, North Korea and Russia.

Japan is further spending more than 70 billion yen ($490 million) for its development of a next-generation fighter jet with Britain and Italy for planned deployment in 2035. The three have agreed to establish a joint organization to develop the fighter as they push to strengthen cooperation in weapons technology, production and sales amid growing threats in the Indo-Pacific.

While working to increase development of arms technology and equipment, Japan’s ban on the export of lethal weapons has limited the scope of that effort. The trilateral fighter project, for instance, hinges on Japan’s government easing thes postwar ban on exporting jointly developed lethal weapons to third countries.

The new budget calls for spending 90 billion yen ($632 million) on subsidies to strengthen Japan’s feeble defense industry and allow more foreign arms sales.