Japanese strike-back capabilities and coastal defences to be boosted while Beijing accuses Tokyo of fuelling a ‘space arms race’
Japan’s cabinet has approved a record high defence budget as tensions with China continue to spiral, with Beijing this week accusing Tokyo of “fuelling a space arms race”.
The draft defence budget for the next fiscal year – approved on Friday – is more than ¥9tn ($58bn) and 9.4% bigger than the previous budget, which will end in April. The increase comes in the fourth year of Japan’s five-year program to double its annual arms spending to 2% of GDP.
The budget plan focuses on fortifying strike-back capability and coastal defences with surface-to-ship missiles and unmanned arsenals. To defend the coasts, Japan will spend ¥100bn yen to deploy “massive” unmanned air, sea-surface and underwater drones for surveillance and defence under a system called “Shield” planned for March 2028, defence ministry officials said.
The budget boost comes amid escalating hostilities between the Chinese and Japanese governments. Beijing has consistently objected to Japan’s strengthening defensiveness, but relations imploded last month when Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said Japan would probably become militarily involved if China attacked Taiwan as part of Beijing’s plans to annex the territory.
