JAPAN(REUTERS) It is reported that the Japanese government has begun considering setting the defense budget at $30 billion for five years starting next year.
If this increase is made, Japan’s defense spending in 2027 will roughly double this year.
Citing multiple Japanese government and ruling party officials on the 8th, the government said it aims to increase defense spending by 6 to 7 trillion yen next year and increase it by 1 trillion yen from the following year to 10 trillion yen by 2027.
If all of these amounts are added, Japan’s total defense expenditure between 2023 and 2027 will be 43 to 45 trillion yen.
Japan’s defense spending this year was 5.36 trillion yen. However, the Japanese government is also considering including the budget of the Coast Guard (Korea’s Maritime Police Agency) and pensions (pensions) paid to retired soldiers in order to avoid financial pressure from excessive defense costs.
South Korea’s defense spending was slightly higher at 38.32 billion dollars as of this year.
However, as Japan decided to significantly increase defense spending in the name of security threats from China and North Korea, Japan’s budget will be ahead of South Korea again from next year.
According to the mid-term defense plan announced by the Ministry of National Defense in September last year, the government’s target defense budget for five years from 2022 to 2026 was $219.08 billion.
Japan’s defense budget for 2023-2027 will be more than $70.1 billion higher than that.
JAPAN(REUTERS)The Liberal Democratic Party won the House of Representatives election in October last year and the Upper House election in July by promising to significantly increase defense costs.
According to the pledge book at the time, NATO members are trying to raise the defense budget to 2% of GDP, and Japan also aims to achieve the budget level necessary to fundamentally strengthen its defense capabilities within five years.
According to the report by the Mainichi Shimbun, Japan’s defense spending will roughly double the current level in 2027, five years later, close to 2% of the gross domestic product targeted by NATO members.
In a speech at the Japanese National Assembly on the 3rd, Kishida said, “It is Japan’s top mission to strengthen deterrence and countermeasures to firmly protect its territory, territorial waters, and airspace.”
JAPAN(REUTERS)The specific size of Japan’s defense spending over the next five years will be finalized by the end of this year.
Currently, the Japanese government will revise three major security documents by the end of this year: the National Security Strategy, the Defense Program outline, and the Mid-term Defense Force Plan.
The specific goal of increasing defense costs will be included in the mid-term defense plan, which will determine what weapons the government should buy over the next five years.
The problem is the budget. Japan does not have financial capacity, with its national debt twice as much as its gross domestic product.
For this reason, there is a conflict between the government’s plan to issue government bonds to secure defense costs and the government’s plan to raise taxes.
As a result, there is even discussion on the ” expedient” of calculating the budget of the Korea Coast Guard in defense expenses.
MIKE CHOI
ASIA JOURNAL
