On Friday, Japan approved a record $56 billion military spending bill for its 2024 defense budget, marking a 16.5% increase from its previous financial commitments.
The country's officials plan to increase the budget annually until it reaches $62.5 billion in 2027, making the subsequent years the highest defense budget ever recorded. The Japanese government had set a goal of spending $302 billion on defense from 2023 to 2027.
Japan's New Military Spending Bill
The Asian nation's Cabinet also approved a loosening of export restrictions that allowed Japan to supply complete lethal weapons and munitions to other nations under specific conditions. The country's 2024 budget allocates roughly $8.78 billion to integrated air and missile defense capabilities.
Missile defense has become an increasingly prioritized sector for Japan in the past few years because of North Korea's advancement in ballistic missile capabilities. It was also due to the North's pronouncement that it would not hesitate to use such weapons against its enemies, as per USNI News.
Among the items allocated under this part of the budget are the two Aegis System Equipped Vessels (ASEV) destroyers with a total funding of $2.6 billion. The money would cover the construction of the first vessel in FY2024 and preliminary costs for the second ship, which will begin construction in FY2025.
Previously, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara announced the securing of FY2024 funding for the ASEV. The first ship is expected to be commissioned in 2027, with the second vessel entering service the following year.
In its FY2024 budget document, Japan's Ministry of Defense said that it expects the acquisition cost for the destroyers to be about $2.75 billion per ship. The country also allocated $523.4 million for joint development with the United States of a Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI).
The Cabinet's newly approved budget would fortify the Asian nation's military with F-35 stealth combat jets and other American weapons. It comes as Japanese troops are increasingly working with allies and are starting to take on more offensive roles, according to DW News.
Loosening of Arms Restrictions
The funding also marks a major break from Japan's postwar principle of limiting the nation's use of force to self-defense. The development would boost the country's arms spending for the 12th year.
Japan's defense budget also comes after it relaxed export controls on Friday for the first time in nearly a decade. A Japanese prime minister's Cabinet national security official said the new rule would allow Japan to export arms "domestically produced under license of a foreign company to the licensing country."
While the move would not allow Japan to ship weapons to countries that are at war, it does allow it to help the US supply Ukraine with additional military aid in its war against Russia. In a statement, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that the decision significantly strengthened US-Japan relations.
Yoshimasa added that it would contribute to Japan's security and the peace and stability of the wider Indo-Pacific region amid rising tensions, said Aljazeera.
