Panel weighs need to update ¥43 tril Japan defense buildup plan

Japan Today

05-05-2025

File photo taken in February 2024 shows a panel of experts under the Japanese Defense Ministry tasked to discuss ways to reinforce Japan's defense capabilities holding its first meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
A panel of experts under the Japanese Defense Ministry is considering a proposal to revise the current defense buildup plan, which allocates 43 trillion yen in spending over five years through March 2028, sources close to the matter said Sunday, as inflation drives up the cost of defense equipment.
The panel, led by Sadayuki Sakakibara, a former chief of the Japan Business Federation, the biggest business lobby in the country, will submit a report on its discussions regarding the need to beef up the country's defense capabilities, possibly in the summer, for the government to consider.
As Japan undertakes its most extensive defense buildup since World War II amid growing security challenges from China and North Korea, and with the public burdened by rising prices, it remains unclear whether any proposal to increase defense spending will gain support from the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The current Defense Buildup Program was adopted in December 2022 as part of three key security documents that marked a major shift in defense policy for a country that upholds a pacifist Constitution, including a plan to acquire strike capabilities that could potentially reach an adversary's territory.
While Japan's annual defense budget had long been capped at around 1 percent of gross domestic product, the documents also set a goal of increasing defense-related spending to 2 percent of GDP by fiscal 2027.
But some members of the panel, established in February 2024, have said the 43 trillion yen budget would be insufficient to fulfill the government's commitment to strengthen defense capabilities, citing rising costs of equipment due to inflation and a weak yen, according to the sources.
Others emphasized the need to enhance Japan's ability to sustain combat operations by increasing ammunition stockpiles and accelerating the acquisition of drones and other advanced equipment amid a shifting security environment following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and growing concerns over a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, they said.
The Defense Buildup Program provides rough cost estimates for acquiring long-range missiles, aircraft and ships over the five years starting in fiscal 2023, as well as a projection of the Self-Defense Forces' posture around a decade later.
To cover the 43 trillion yen in defense spending, the government has planned hikes in corporate, income and tobacco taxes. It is set to raise corporate and tobacco taxes starting in April 2026 but has yet to decide when to increase the income tax.
A government source said seeking to further increase the defense budget will require "huge political energy," which is not something that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who leads a minority government, can withstand.
A senior government official said serious discussions about revisiting the Defense Buildup Program are likely to take place after the House of Councillors election in the summer.
Meanwhile, some within the Japanese government have called for additional defense equipment to be purchased through the United States' foreign military sales program, as U.S. President Donald Trump has made clear he believes Japan should increase its defense spending.
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