Japan’s military looks to raise spending over the next five years in response to security challenges and to narrow Japan’s trade surplus with the US by buying equipment from there, the Nikkei business daily reported yesterday.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense looks to spend at least ¥27 trillion (US$239.5 billion) between April next year and March 2024, with the spending rising an average 1.1 percent per year, exceeding the 0.8 percent average during the five years ending March next year, the report said, without identifying its sources.
At present, payments on equipment and personnel expenses account for 80 percent of defense spending, Nikkei said.
Under the plan, funds for new equipment purchases would be separated from these expenses, making it easier to buy equipment from the US, it said.
Japan aims to have cabinet approval for the spending in mid-December, it said.
The ministry could not be immediately reached for comment.
Purchases of US-made equipment could help Tokyo ease trade friction with Washington, as US President Donald Trump pushes Japan to buy more US goods, including military gear, while threatening to impose tariffs on Japanese auto imports to cut a trade deficit with Tokyo.
The ministry in August sought record spending of ¥5.3 trillion next year to help pay for major upgrades to defenses designed to shoot down any North Korean ballistic missile, which Tokyo sees as a continued threat, despite Pyongyang’s promise to abandon nuclear weapons.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been reinforcing Japan’s military to respond to any North Korea missile strike and counter China’s growing air and sea power in the waters around Japan.
Japan remains wary of North Korean promises to abandon its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
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