The Japanese Ministry of Defense is expected to request a record-breaking defense budget of $52 billion for fiscal year 2017, a Japanese government official reportedly told Reuters.
Next year’s national defense budget is set to increase by 2.3 percent over Japan’s already-high military spending. If the request goes through as planned, this will be the fifth consecutive time Japan has raised its defense budget. In 2013, Japan increased its defense budget for the first time in 11 years, pushing it up to around $50 billion.
The new budget will cover upgrades to Japan’s Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 missile defense system, which will extend its range to around 20 miles, the production of the Block IIA version of the Standard Missile-3 system, the strengthening of coast guard units tasked with patrolling Miyako Island and Amami Oshima, and the acquisition of F-35 stealth fighters.
The PAC-3s are the second line of defense for anything which makes it past the Self Defense Force’s (SDF) Aegis-equipped destroyers and their SM-3s. The planned upgrades will strengthen this line of defense, reported Nikkei Asian Review.
The Block IIA will be able to knock out incoming missiles at an altitude of 621 miles, an improvement over the current SM-3s with a range of only 186 miles. The Block IIA will help Japan counter North Korea’s Musudan missile.
Japan also intends to develop a drone fighter jet with the help of the private sector, as part of a technology strategy designed to enhance the country’s military communications and laser systems capabilities.
China conducted a massive live-fire drill in the East China Sea earlier this month. Japan then released a defense white paper which dedicated 30 pages to Japanese concerns over Chinese militarism at sea. A few days later, China, in a rather shocking show of force, sent a flotilla consisting of hundreds of fishing vessels and armed coast guard ships into Japanese-controlled waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands, territories administered by Japan, but claimed by China. Over the weekend, Japan confirmed that it would be upgrading the missile systems on Miyako Island to give Japan the ability to defend the Senkakus from Chinese incursions.
North Korea fired a ballistic missile into Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Aug. 3, and announced that it is once again producing plutonium for nuclear weapons Wednesday. The ballistic missile launch prompted Japan to consider implementing an open-ended missile intercept order to protect itself from North Korean provocations.
Several weeks ago, China called out Japan in a Xinhua News Agency article. The state-sponsored media outlet reported, “Analysts here believe that by playing up the so-called ‘China threat,’ the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is attempting to make excuses for amending the post-war pacifist constitution and building up Japan’s army.”
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