Photo/Illutration A Type 12 surface-to-ship missile system that could be deployed when Japan acquires the capability to stage a strike against a country planning to attack Japan. (Provided by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.)

The Defense Ministry is set to request funding for 100-plus items without divulging what they will cost in its budget request for fiscal 2023, in addition to seeking more than 5.5 trillion yen ($40.1 billion) in defense outlays, according to government sources.

Its deft maneuvering suggests that the final sum for defense spending in the fiscal year ahead will be eye-popping, based on the nation’s new long-term defense strategy that is due to be hammered out by the year-end, the sources said.

Submitting budget requests without specifying the amounts is something the ministry has rarely done, except when the costs were related to the U.S. military presence in Japan.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party is pushing to dramatically bolster defense outlays within five years to more than 2 percent of gross domestic product. The annual figure currently hovers at around 1 percent of GDP.

Requests that only declare items and not costs are likely to include weapons systems that would allow the Self-Defense Forces to strike an enemy missile base to prevent an attack on Japan, according to the sources.

They also include the operation of long-range, stand-off missiles, which are said to be capable of striking enemy forces from outside the range of their radar systems and missiles.

Japan plans to introduce stand-off missiles that can be fired from SDF vehicles, vessels and aircraft and mass produce them.

The introduction of unmanned combat air drones is also among the items under consideration.

“The Defense Ministry lined up as many items as it could since, effectively, the sky is the limit,” said a source on the plan to list more than 100 items.

The government accepted budget requests with unspecified amounts when it decided it also had to set aside emergency funds to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic.

But its list of proposed measures came under intense criticism on grounds many of the steps it planned were unnecessary.

The Defense Ministry’s budget request that includes items with unspecified costs comes after the government exempted defense, along with measures to counter the falling birthrate for fiscal 2023, which begins next April, from normal budget procedures.

The ministry’s request for the 5.5 trillion yen is 400 billion yen more than the defense outlay for the current fiscal year.

The ministry is also considering funds for the construction of training facilities specializing in cybersecurity and strengthening the nation’s ability to counter such security threats, according to the sources.

The months leading up to the year-end will be a crucial period for Japan in terms of laying out a long-term defense policy.

Weighty programs such as the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Program Outline and Midterm Defense Buildup Program are expected to be in place by the end of December.

Based on those programs, the government will finalize defense costs for fiscal 2023.

 

Related News