Japan OKS big hike in military spending

TOKYO — Japan’s Cabinet on Friday approved the country’s biggest increase in military spending in decades, as officials expressed growing concern about the possibility of being pulled into a conflict over Taiwan.

The increase of 6.5 percent is part of the largest annual budget package in Japan’s history, totaling more than $940 billion. It includes hundreds of billions in spending meant to help the economy recover from damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic.

It also includes more than $51.5 billion for the military, reflecting a substantial increase in a defense budget far smaller than that of its ally the United States or of China, the regional giant. Officials have argued that the spending is needed to protect Japan in a security environment that is becoming “more challenging at unprecedented speed.”

In recent months, Japanese politicians and policymakers have said that regional stability is facing growing threats because of tensions between the United States and China, which some fear could lead to conflict over Taiwan, accidental or otherwise.

In light of those concerns, officials have increased the pace and scope of military exercises with the United States and other nations, and they have accelerated spending on projects seen as key to protecting Japan against a possible conflict near its shores.

The spending approved by the Cabinet is less than what Japan’s defense ministry requested this summer. While large by Japanese standards, it is far below the military budgets of the United States, at around $778 billion, and China, estimated at $252 billion. The new figure includes spending approved last month in Japan’s largest-ever supplementary defense budget.

Japan’s parliament must still approve the budget figures, but there is little doubt that it will do so.

The military budget approved Friday includes funds for fortifying some of the islands in the Ryukyu archipelago with missile installations and garrisons for Japanese soldiers. Some inhabitants of the Ryukyus fear that those measures could make them targets in the event of a conflict.

New spending will also go toward bolstering Japan’s capabilities in such domains as cyberwarfare and conflict in space, as well as a substantial increase for researching advanced technologies that the defense ministry describes as potential “game changers.”

The country also intends to purchase an additional 12 F-35s, an advanced American fighter.