Departing From Pacifist Policy, Japan Unveils $320 Bn Military Build-Up Plan

Japan said on Friday that it would begin a previously unthinkable USD 320 billion military buildup to arm it with missiles capable of striking China and prepare it for a long-term conflict as regional tensions and Russia's invasion of Ukraine fuel war fears.

The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is concerned that Russia has set a precedent that will encourage China to attack Taiwan, threatening nearby Japanese islands, disrupting supplies of advanced semiconductors and potentially squeezing sea lanes that supply Middle Eastern oil.

The government said that in its five-year plan and revamped national security strategy, it would stockpile spare parts and other munitions, strengthen logistics, develop cyber warfare capabilities, and work more closely with the US and other like-minded nations to deter threats to the established international order.

“Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a serious violation of laws prohibiting the use of force and has shaken the foundations of the international order,” Japan said in a national security paper.

It added that China's strategic challenge is the most significant Japan has ever faced.

The rapid arming of Japan, which already hosts US forces, including a carrier strike group and a Marine expeditionary force, is unthinkable under previous administrations, according to polls. According to some polls, up to 70 per cent of voters support the proposal.

Kishida’s plan calls for doubling defence spending to about 2 per cent of GDP over the next five years, bringing the defence ministry's share to about a tenth of total government spending. Based on current budgets, Japan will become the world's third-largest military spender, trailing only the United States and China.

The five-year spending plan did not include a detailed plan for how Kishida's administration would pay for it, as lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party continue to debate whether to raise taxes or borrow money.