REQUESTED BUDGET MAY INCREASE
The Nikkei newspaper said the defence ministry’s request may jump to more than 10 trillion yen, citing an unnamed ruling party lawmaker.
The current request did not specify the estimated costs of many products and services, including missiles, drones and digital systems.
These figures will be finalised once the government finishes its revision of core national security documents by the end of the year, defence officials said.
Those three documents set the outline of the country’s future defence capabilities while assessing the country’s security environment.
Japan has been beefing up military spending and security cooperation in Asia, deploying missile launchers to outer islands, moving to acquire “counterstrike” capabilities and easing rules on weapons exports.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, seen as a China hawk, has placed national defence at the top of her conservative agenda.
Japan’s ties with China deteriorated sharply after she suggested in November that Japan could intervene militarily in any conflict over Taiwan, which Beijing views as its territory.
China has expressed alarm at what it sees as a return to “new militarism” by Japan.
Under Takaichi, the government is expected to make an overall budget request of around 143 trillion yen, a sharp increase from 122.4 trillion yen requested for the ongoing fiscal year, the Nikkei newspaper reported.
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