Tokyo: Japan will almost double its defense spending to $74.5 billion, Chairperson of the Policy Research Council of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party Sanae Takaichi said on Monday.
“As for defense spending, the 2 per cent of GDP bar is just an outward signal to show Japan’s strong intention. And if you put everything you need into the budget, it will get to the level of 10 trillion yen [$74.5 billion],” Takaichi said as aired by Japanese broadcaster Fuji Television Network.
The ruling party voiced the idea of raising defense spending to 2 per cent of GDP in late April. On May 23, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told US President Joe Biden that Tokyo wanted to “significantly increase” military expenditures amid rising tensions in the region. The leaders talked about the need to increase defense spending within five years.
According to the 2022 Budget Review released by the Japanese Ministry of Defense, defense spending in 2022 will total $43.3 billion, which is about 1.27 per cent of GDP.
