Japan weighs $500-billion defense spending plan, sources say

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TOKYO — Japan's government and ruling coalition are considering nearly doubling defense spending over the next five years as part of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's push to strengthen the country's military capabilities, according to two people familiar with the matter.

If adopted, defense buildup spending for the five years from April 2027 would be set at 70 trillion to 80 trillion yen ($457 billion to $508 billion), up about 1.8 times from the roughly 43 trillion yen allocated under the current five-year plan, which began in fiscal 2023.

The figure could still change as the government compiles the budget towards year-end and revises its three security-related documents. Japan's defense ministry said it had no comment at this point.

One of the people told Reuters the new spending is expected to fund purchases such as large numbers of drones. The same person said a weaker yen has pushed up the cost of defense equipment procurement.

The second person said the final figure could land in the mid-to-late 70 trillion yen range, but questioned whether such a sum would be enough given the security environment in East Asia, adding the final figure was subject to debate between the government and coalition partners.

Under the current buildup program formulated at the end of 2022, Japan sharply raised planned defense spending from an initial allocation of 27.5 trillion yen, with a focus on long-range missiles intended for counterstrike capabilities, as well as ammunition and spare parts for military equipment.

Japan is exploring structuring its defense around the interception of long-range attacks by deploying drones, reflecting new methods of fighting seen in conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, government officials told Reuters in September.

Japan's defense ministry has said for some years that it is developing domestically-manufactured long-range missiles and is also prioritizing budget allocations for drones, AI and space technologies to adapt to new forms of warfare. — Reuters