Japan Cabinet OKs record military budget to speed up strike capability

Tokyo, Dec 23: Japan’s Cabinet on Friday approved a hefty 16% increase in military spending next year and eased its post war ban on lethal weapons exports, underscoring a shift away from the country’s self-defence-only principle.
The moves came as Japan accelerates the deployment of long-range cruise missiles that can hit targets in China or North Korea while Japanese troops increasingly work with allies and take on more offensive roles.
In a latest step under a new security strategy that Japan adopted a year ago, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government also allowed the export of weapons and components made in Japan under foreign licenses to the licensing nations. The controversial move is the first major revision of Japan’s arms export ban since an earlier easing in 2014.
“In taking the action, we hope to contribute to defend a free and open international order based on the rule of law and to achieve the peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” Kishida told reporters. “There is no change to our principle as a pacifist nation.” The government quickly approved the first export shipment under the change, agreeing to send to the United States surface-to-air Patriot guided missiles produced in Japan under an American license. Officials said it would complement U.S. stock, raising speculation that Japanese-produced Patriots may be sent to Ukraine.
The easing also paves the way for future possible exports to the U.S., Britain and six European licensing nations involving dozens of lethal weapons and components, including F-15s and fighter jet engines.
“The scope, scale, and speed of Japan’s security reforms have been unprecedented,” U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel said in a statement on X. He praised the easing of the defence equipment and transfer policy as historic and “a significant example of Japan’s shared commitment to deterrence.” The ban on the export of lethal weapons has limited the scope of Japan’s efforts to develop arms technology and equipment. The easing would help strengthen Japan’s feeble defence industry and broaden the country’s new official military aid designed for like-minded nations in the Indo-Pacific region in countering Chinese assertiveness, experts say.
Japan is spending more than 70 billion yen ($490 million) in 2024 for the development of a next-generation fighter jet with Britain and Italy, and the project hinges on a futher easing of restrictions to allow the export of jointly developed lethal weapons to third countries – a change Kishida wants by the end of February.
The budget would boost Japan’s arms spending for a 12th year. Last year, the government budgeted 6.8 trillion yen (about $48 billion). (AP)