Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has ordered a sharp defense spending hike that could see his long-pacifist nation’s defense budget balloon to near the levels spent by Russia.
Kishida instructed ministers to put together a budget of about ￥43 trillion (US$315 billion) for the five-year period starting in April next year, Japanese Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada said on Monday.
That is up 57 percent on the ￥27 trillion initially budgeted for the current five-year period.
Photo: Reuters
The change of direction for Japan, which has retained a US-drafted pacifist constitution since its defeat in World War II, comes after the nation was shocked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
China’s threats toward Taiwan and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions have also lent support for Tokyo to embark on one of its largest military buildups in decades.
A poll conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun over the weekend found that 51 percent of respondents approved of a hike to more than ￥40 trillion, while 42 percent disapproved.
The money is set to be used for items such as stockpiling missiles that are capable of striking military assets in neighbors Russia, China and North Korea.
Another goal over the next 10 years would be to triple the number of military units equipped with ballistic missile interceptors in a southwestern island chain that stretches toward Taiwan, Kyodo News reported, citing a draft of a government document.
The news met with criticism from China.
“Japan has been sensationalizing regional tensions in an attempt to seek a military breakthrough,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) said at a regular news conference in Beijing yesterday. “This is highly dangerous. It cannot but put Asian neighbors and the international community on high alert about Japan’s commitment to an exclusively defensive policy and to peaceful development.”
Kishida’s increase could mean Japan leapfrogs nations such as Saudi Arabia and France to become the world’s fifth-largest defense spender and reach annual spending about level with Russia, based on data provided by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
However, the slump in the value of the yen against the US dollar would mean the cash might not go as far as in the past.
Ministries and ruling Liberal Democratic Party politicians have wrangled over the extent of the increase, which would place another strain on the finances of the deeply indebted and aging nation.
Kishida called for a concrete plan by the end of the year to fund the increase, including spending reforms and use of non-tax revenues as well as taxes, Hamada said.
Japanese Minister of Finance Shunichi Suzuki told reporters yesterday that adjustments would be needed to secure the necessary funds for the five-year period.
The government is set to reveal how it plans to use the funds in revised national security documents and an annual budget to be unveiled later this month.
Kishida has also ordered ministers to aim to raise total defense-related spending to 2 percent of GDP over the same five-year period. While Japan is not a member of NATO, that would meet the target set for members.
NOT BUYING IT: One of the goals of Beijing’s Cross-Strait Media People Summit was to draw mainstream media executives to discuss the ‘one country, two systems’ formula Taiwanese news media insist on press freedom and professionalism, and would never become a tool of China’s “united front” campaign, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday, responding to media queries about the lack of Taiwanese media executives at the Cross-Strait Media People Summit in Beijing. Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧) was reportedly furious that no Taiwanese media representatives attended a scheduled meeting with him on Thursday last week. “Beijing should take Taiwan’s determination to pursue freedom and democracy seriously. We also hope that it will not use vicious means to interfere with Taiwan’s development into a
IMMIGRATION REFORM: The legislative amendments aim to protect the rights of families to reunify, and to attract skilled professionals to stay and work in Taiwan Foreigners who are highly skilled professionals, top-prize winners in professional disciplines, investment immigration applicants or have made special contributions to Taiwan can soon apply for permanent residency on behalf of their spouses and minor or disabled children after the legislature approved amendments to the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法). The amendments, which were proposed by the Ministry of the Interior and approved by the Executive Yuan on Jan. 12, aim to attract foreign talent to Taiwan and encourage them to stay. They would take effect once they are signed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). The amendments involved changing 63 articles, making it the biggest
FIRST STEP: Business groups in Taiwan welcomed the deal, which does not include tariff reductions at this stage, as they called for the elimination of double taxation Taiwan and the US yesterday signed an initial agreement under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade. The agreement was signed yesterday morning by Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Managing Director Ingrid Larson in Washington, the Office of Trade Negotiations in Taipei said. The ceremony was witnessed by Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) and Deputy US Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi. Taiwan and the US started talks under the initiative in August last year, after Taipei was left out of the Washington-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. “The deal that will be signed tonight is not only very historic,
Beijing yesterday blamed US “provocation” for an incident last week in which a Chinese plane crossed in front of a US surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea. The incident came at a time of frayed ties between Washington and Beijing over issues including Taiwan and the shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US this year. “The United States’ long-term and frequent sending of ships and planes to conduct close surveillance on China seriously harms China’s national sovereignty and security,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning (毛寧) said when asked about the latest incident. “This
RSS