The Japanese government’s defense spending in fiscal year 2021 will be around 5.34 trillion yen (about $52 billion), according to Kyodo News Agency of Japan on Wednesday. Record high for the ninth consecutive year.
Sources said that the Japanese government also plans to set the initial total budget ceiling of 106 trillion yen for the whole year from April, far exceeding the record of 102.66 trillion yen set for fiscal year 2020.
In addition, the General Account budget will exceed 100 trillion yen for the third consecutive year due to the increasing cost of social security and the response to the coronavirus epidemic.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiro Kan’s cabinet is expected to approve the draft budget next Monday, before which departments will conclude the final negotiations.
Previously, the Ministry of Defense of Japan submitted a budget request of 5.49 trillion yen, an increase of 3.3% over the previous year, in an attempt to strengthen its capabilities in new areas such as cyberspace, outer space and electromagnetic spectrum. Kyodo News Agency reported that this is an obscure response to China and Russia.
After the Ministry of Defense abandoned its plan to deploy land-based Aegis system, the defense budget will also include the construction of two Aegis destroyers.
