Japan's Ministry of Defense Demands Significant Increase in Defense Budget... 'Likely to Exceed GDP 1% Limit'

"First Time Since the 2010 Global Financial Crisis Period, Expected to Exceed 1% of GDP"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Japan's Ministry of Defense has requested a 7% increase in defense spending for next year compared to this year. As a result, there is speculation that Japan's defense budget could exceed 1% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first time in 11 years.

On the 31st, Japan's Ministry of Defense requested 5.4797 trillion yen (approximately 58 trillion won) for the 2022 fiscal year (from April next year to March 2023). Although this amount is less than last year's request of 10.1 billion yen, it is larger than the actual allocated amount of 5.1235 trillion yen. In particular, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi have expressed their intention to allocate defense spending without being constrained by the 1% of GDP guideline, raising the possibility of a significant increase.

Prime Minister Suga recently stated in an interview with the U.S. magazine Newsweek that "the security environment surrounding Japan is becoming increasingly difficult," and indicated that he would not remain bound by the practice of limiting defense spending to within 1% of GDP.

According to Japanese media, since 1990, Japan's defense spending has exceeded 1% of GDP only once, in 2010. Even then, the increase was more due to a decrease in Japan's GDP caused by the 2010 global financial crisis rather than an actual rise in defense spending.

Regarding the budget request for next year, Japan's Ministry of Defense stated, "Neighboring countries are significantly increasing their defense budgets to strengthen their military capabilities, and the surrounding security environment is becoming severely serious at an unprecedented pace."

The Ministry of Defense did not hide its intention to use this increase in defense spending to counter China. For instance, it plans to establish a Ground Self-Defense Force unit of 570 personnel equipped with surface-to-air and surface-to-ship missiles in Okita-wa, which is close to Taiwan. Additionally, plans include establishing a 2nd Space Operations Squadron to expand the size of space-related units.

For research and development, a record-high budget of 325.7 billion yen has been allocated, focusing on the development of artificial intelligence (AI), unmanned weapons, and other technologies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.