Japan Tilts Toward a Five-Year Defense Total of Around ¥60 Trillion for FY2027-31, Below the Defense Ministry's ¥70-80 Trillion Estimate
Japan's government has begun coordinating toward setting the total defense budget for the five years from fiscal 2027 to fiscal 2031 at around ¥60 trillion. The total is to be written into the Defense Buildup Program, one of the three national security documents to be revised at the end of this year. Multiple officials disclosed the move on November 13.
The figures floated inside the government until now were far larger. The Ministry of Defense, tallying the equipment and force structure it considers necessary, had estimated ¥70 trillion to ¥80 trillion. The current plan, covering fiscal 2023 to 2027, totals roughly ¥43 trillion. But a further increase would likely require a large tax rise to pay for it, and opinion inside the government favouring avoidance of a big tax hike has prevailed, tilting the coordination toward the ¥60 trillion scale. Even so, the tax burden may still rise to some degree. The Trump administration is pressing allies to spend more on defense, and whether Washington will accept the ¥60 trillion scale is unclear.
The next plan is expected to centre on mass procurement of drones and on stockpiling ammunition and missiles for a long war. Another focus is how the current target, defense and related spending combined at 2 per cent of gross domestic product, will be revised. A proposal to create a new agency integrating support measures for retired Self-Defense Forces personnel and their families is now likely to be shelved.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has made strengthening defense a signature policy. The final five-year total is expected to be settled during year-end budget drafting and the revision of the three security documents.
(Source: Kyodo News)
Source: Kyodo News
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于东京市谷的日本防卫省总部（资料图）。N509FZ 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Headquarters of Japan's Ministry of Defense in Ichigaya, Tokyo (file photo). By N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
