Japan's Defense Budget for Next Year Hits Record 56 Trillion Won... 10 Consecutive Years of Increase Since LDP's Return to Power

▲Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The Japanese government has set next year's defense budget at a record high of 56 trillion won.

On the 24th, the Japanese government decided on a budget plan for the 2022 fiscal year (April 2022 to March 2023) amounting to 107.5964 trillion yen (approximately 1,115.4842 trillion won) at the Cabinet meeting.

The defense budget is 5.4005 trillion yen (approximately 55.9535 trillion won), an increase of 1.1% compared to this year's main budget, marking the largest scale ever.

This marks the tenth consecutive year of defense budget increases since the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) returned to power in 2013.

In the October House of Representatives election pledge, the LDP announced plans to increase the defense budget with an eye toward exceeding 2% of GDP and to strengthen deterrence capabilities, including possessing the ability to intercept ballistic missiles within the adversary's territory.

Among the pledges, it is notable that the Kishida Fumio administration, which has begun discussions on possessing "enemy base strike capabilities," decided to invest 185.8 billion yen in projects aimed at improving so-called "stand-off defense capabilities," which enable striking enemies from outside the threat range.

Specifically, 39.3 billion yen was allocated to projects enhancing functions such as extending the range of the Ground Self-Defense Force's Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missiles. Additionally, 76.8 billion yen was budgeted for acquiring eight F-35A fighter jets.

The Japanese government has significantly increased research and development expenses to enhance capabilities against hypersonic weapons being developed by China and North Korea. A representative example is the research budget for railguns, which have excellent continuous firing capabilities, set at 6.5 billion yen.

Kyodo News reported, "Including new defense fields such as unmanned aerial vehicles, space, and cyber, research and development expenses reach 291.1 billion yen."

Meanwhile, the total budget for next year has set a record high for the tenth consecutive year. Amid accelerating aging, social security expenses increased by 439.3 billion yen, reaching a record high of 36.2735 trillion yen.

The next year's budget was compiled with a basic fiscal balance concept covering both the central and local governments, resulting in a deficit of 1.3462 trillion yen.

Although the Japanese government aims to achieve a basic fiscal balance surplus by the 2025 fiscal year, Kyodo News analyzed that achieving this goal will be difficult.

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