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With eye on China, Japan unveils record defense budget

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Shingo Ito

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/overseas/04/07/2018-04-07t043746z_2066754369_rc1a79a01c60_rtrmadp_3_japan-defence-marines.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Soldiers of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force&#x27;s (JGSDF) Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japan&#x27;s first marine unit since World War II, gather at a ceremony activating the brigade at JGSDF&#x27;s Camp Ainoura in Sasebo, on the southwest island of Kyushu, Japan April 7, 2018. Issei Kato, Reuters</figcaption></figure></div> TOKYO, Japan -- Japan&#x27;s defense budget will swell to a record $47 billion for the next fiscal year, the government said Friday, as Tokyo beefs up its missile defense and deploys stealth jets in a bid to counter China.The defense spending was part of a $912-billion national budget for the fiscal year starting in April 2019, approved by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe&#x27;s cabinet.The government decided to set aside 5.26 trillion yen ($47 billion) for defense, the fifth record year in a row, defense ministry officials said.The defense funding will cover the cost of introducing the US military&#x27;s Aegis Ashore land-based missile interceptor system, the officials said.The FY 2019 allocation covers six F-35A stealth jets, and part of it will be spent on Japan&#x27;s first aircraft carriers since World War II.The budget is the initial allocation of Japan&#x27;s new five-year defense plan, announced on Tuesday as the latest in a series of steps under Abe to boost the nation&#x27;s military.Under the multi-year program through March 2024, Japan will upgrade two existing helicopter carriers so that they can launch fighters.Abe&#x27;s government argues the efforts are necessary given growing defense challenges in the region, including tensions with North Korea, and particularly &quot;strong concerns&quot; about the expansion of China&#x27;s military footprint.But the move is controversial, with critics arguing it shifts Tokyo further away from its commitment to strictly defensive capabilities under Japan&#x27;s post-WWII pacifist constitution.Beijing immediately expressed its &quot;strong dissatisfaction and opposition&quot; to the program unveiled on Tuesday, urging Tokyo &quot;to adhere to a purely defensive policy.&quot;Last year, China unveiled its first domestically built aircraft carrier as it continues to assert claims in the South China Sea. Beijing&#x27;s first carrier, the Liaoning, is a second-hand Soviet ship built nearly 30 years ago and commissioned in 2012.Japan&#x27;s new program comes after pledges to buy more US military equipment, under pressure from President Donald Trump.The US leader has repeatedly complained about Washington&#x27;s huge trade deficit with Tokyo and also urged Abe to expand the country&#x27;s defensive capacity.For his part, Abe has campaigned for years to amend Japan&#x27;s pacifist constitution, arguing that it ties the hands of the country&#x27;s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) even in protecting the country&#x27;s allies from attack.&quot;Japan&#x27;s growing defense budget is directly aimed to counter China&#x27;s military threat,&quot; said Akira Kato, professor of international politics and regional security at Tokyo&#x27;s J.F. Oberlin University.&quot;The budget gain is also part of Japan&#x27;s efforts to buy more US military equipment so that it can avoid a trade war with Washington,&quot; Kato told AFP, adding that Tokyo&#x27;s defense budget is expected to continue expanding.

The government decided to set aside 5.26 trillion yen ($47 billion) for defense, the fifth record year in a row, defense ministry officials said.

The government decided to set aside 5.26 trillion yen ($47 billion) for defense, the fifth record year in a row, defense ministry officials said.