Prime Minister's Office of Japan Official Twitter | Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at an economic forum, Nov. 19, 2021
Japan is poised to boost its defense spending by another $6.8 billion (770 billion yen) to combat threats from North Korea and China, expanding its defense budget to its highest-ever amount.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet approved the increase on Friday, pushing the country’s annual defense spending to over $53.2 billion (6.1 trillion yen) for the first time and exceeding last year’s budget by over 15%.
Japan is poised to boost its defense spending by another $6.8 billion (770 billion yen) to combat threats from North Korea and China, expanding its defense budget to its highest-ever amount.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet approved the increase on Friday, pushing the country’s annual defense spending to over $53.2 billion (6.1 trillion yen) for the first time and exceeding last year’s budget by over 15%.
Kosuke Takahashi is a Tokyo-based journalist. His work has appeared in the Asahi Shimbun, Bloomberg, Asia Times, Jane's Defence Weekly and The Diplomat, among other publications. You can follow him on Twitter @TakahashiKosuke