Tokyo, Dec. 28 – The Japanese government has just signed off on its draft budget for fiscal year 2026, setting defence spending at a record‑high roughly 9.04 trillion yen (about $58 billion). The uptick has sparked worries from the public and lawmakers alike.
A recent editorial in Shimbun Akahata highlighted that the defence allocation jumped from 5.4 trillion yen in FY 2022 to 9.04 trillion yen today—an increase of 3.6 trillion yen over just four years, according to Xinhua. The paper compared the new figure with the 3.5 trillion yen earmarked for policies addressing Japan’s shrinking birthrate and the 3.8 trillion yen earmarked for nursing‑care payments, warning that the added military spending is likely to “squeeze livelihood‑related expenditures,” calling the budget “military prosperity at the expense of people’s livelihoods.”
The Ryukyu Shimpo added that the new weapons procurement plans represented a sharp shift away from Japan’s long‑standing “exclusively defence-oriented” stance and could intensify regional tensions. Professor emeritus Atsushi Koketsu of Yamaguchi University told Xinhua that the proposal is “deeply disappointing,” as it offers little consideration for citizen welfare while dramatically boosting armament costs.
For decades, Japan limited its defence budget to roughly 1 % of gross domestic product—around 5 trillion yen—reflecting its pacifist post‑war constitution. In 2022, the government unveiled a strategy to raise total defence outlays to about 43 trillion yen across fiscal 2023‑2027 and to lift defence spending to 2 % of GDP by fiscal 2027. Since the start of FY 2023, the defence budget has climbed from over 6 trillion yen, 7 trillion yen, 8 trillion yen, and now nearly 9 trillion yen.
(1 yen ≈ $0.006)
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
