Defense Ministry seek record budget amid security concerns

The Defense Ministry has requested a record ¥5.594 trillion budget for scal 2023, up 3.6% from this scal year’s initial budget, amid the nation’s deteriorating security environment.

Overall, the Finance Ministry received requests from ministries and agencies totalling over ¥110 trillion for the scal year starting April 1. Wednesday was the deadline to submit requests for the initial general account budget.

e total request is just barely below the record ¥111.655 trillion for scal 2022.

e initial budget for this scal year came to a record ¥107.596 trillion, but as the Defense Ministry was among the ministries and agencies allowed to make unspeci ed budget requests, the scal 2023 initial budget is expected to blow past that mark.

Japan is facing higher security risks as North Korea is progressing with its nuclear and missile development programs, and China’s actions have led to fears of a potential invasion of Taiwan.

e Liberal Democratic Party, of which Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is the president, has been calling on the government to achieve a level of defense spending on par with NATO standards within

ve years. e North Atlantic Treaty Organization, of which Japan is not a member, has a guideline for member nations to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense.

e Defense Ministry requested spending for about 100 items without specifying the amounts, so many o cials in the government and ruling camp believe that defense expenditures will likely exceed ¥6 trillion when the budget is compiled.

e ministry requested ¥27.2 billion for improving the Type 12 surface-to-ship missile to extend its range to 1,000 kilometers. e aim is to use it as a type of stando missile to launch counterattacks against enemy targets from beyond the enemy’s missile range. e ministry also requested funds for mass-producing the upgraded version from scal 2023, but did not specify the amount.

Another unspeci ed Defense Ministry budget request was for research on hypersonic guided missiles that can y at Mach 5 or faster. e acquisition of combat drones and possession of self-destructing drones as well as research on unmanned vehicles that can detect the location of an enemy are also part of the unspeci ed budget requests.

To improve capabilities in the domain of space, the ministry also requested allocations for manufacturing and testing satellites to monitor the operations of other countries’ satellites, but did not specify any amounts.

e largest budget request was made by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry at ¥33.264 trillion, which accounted for about 30% of the total requested.

Of the gure, ¥31.269 trillion was intended to be allocated for pensions and medical care, up by about ¥530 billion from the initial budget for scal 2022. As for spending related to Kishida’s signature “new form of capitalism” policy, the ministry also requested ¥110.1 billion to invest in human resources, such as for developing digitally savvy personnel.

e Economy, Trade and Industry

Ministry made a request for promoting the introduction of renewable energy, while the Internal A airs and Communications Ministry made a request for supporting research and development of the 6G telecommunications standard. (Sept. 2)