Japan is planning to spend a record £36 billion on its military next year as it seeks to defend its territory against threats from
China,
North Korea and
Russia.
Increased funds will help to buy the US-made F-35A and F-35B stealth fighters. The F-35B is capable of short take-off and vertical landing, indispensable on the Nansei island chain that stretches from Okinawa towards Taiwan, where there are few full-length runways.
Funds will also be requested to equip new destroyers with the Aegis missile interceptor system to counter potential threats from North Korea.
Japan announced last year that it was scrapping a planned order of Lockheed Martin’s land-based Aegis Ashore, though is still considering its introduction, according to military sources.
There are also expected to be upgrades to missiles and electronic systems on F-15 jets, the main combat aircraft of the Air Self-Defence Force.
The defence ministry is also planning to invest around £2 billion in developing a system to shoot down military drones with lasers or microwaves. Spending is also expected to be increased in areas such as military AI, hypersonic weapons and quantum technology.
The Nansei island chain includes the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, to which China has laid claim.
China has been regularly sending naval ships on exercises in the waters around the disputed islets since the Tokyo metropolitan government bought them from a private owner in 2012.
In the Defence of Japan 2021 white paper released in July,
the government for the first time stated explicitly that “Taiwan is important for Japan’s security and the stability of the international community”, drawing an angry response from Beijing. There are fears in Japan’s defence community that if China did invade Taiwan then nearby Okinawa would be its next target.
The spending is likely to take Japan’s defence budget over the 1 per cent of GDP guideline it set in 1976. This would only be the second time it had exceeded the 1 per cent target, the first being in 2009-10 when GDP contracted sharply due to the global financial crisis.
Under the Japanese constitution, the nation is forbidden from possessing first-strike capabilities, but is planning to beef up its offensive missile systems.
In addition to the potential dangers of China and North Korea, Russia carried out military exercises in June on islands near Hokkaido that it seized at the end of the Second World War, leading Japan to scramble fighters and lodge a protest with the Russian embassy in Tokyo.