Japan’s military spending is edging closer to its targeted 2 % of gross domestic product ( GDP ), with big new budget earmarks for drones, missile defense, satellites, cyber defense and cloud-based command and control systems.
Tokyo is banking more on defense systems boots on the ground to address growing security threats and challenges from China, North Korea, and Russia, according to the proposed funds, which is awaiting final acceptance.
On August 30, Japan’s Ministry of Defense requested a record-high budget of 8.5 trillion yen ($ 58 billion ) for the 2025 fiscal year that ends in March 2026.
The figure, a whopping 7.4 % increase over an initial budget of 7.9 trillion yen, is equal to about 1.4 % of projected GDP and is two-thirds greater than the 5.1 trillion yen spent in fiscal 2021.
The proposed funds, which should be finalized by the end of this calendar year, will be reviewed and apparently reduced by the Ministry of Finance. If history is a link, any lowering will likely be minimal, perhaps around 3 %, meaning the final resources would still beat a record-high amount of 8 trillion renminbi.
By 2027, the Asian government has agreed to raise defence spending to NATO’s standard of 2 % of GDP. For centuries, Japan capped defence spending at 1 % of GDP, in line with its “pacifist” law.
Since Japan’s GDP is growing at an annual rate of about 1 %, hitting the 2 % target will require an additional 45 % increase in defense spending to reach over 12 trillion yen.
That’s a financial span, to be sure, but it commits the country to a goal that makes any plausible novel Chinese government’s defense budget cuts almost unachievable.
Whether or not the 2 % target is reached on time in 2027 ( or at all ), Japan’s military build-up has been institutionalized and will likely continue apace.
The spending on security in Japan has fundamentally changed. Personnel expenses, which are barely growing, have dropped from 44 % of total spending five years ago to an estimated 29 % this fiscal year and 27 % in the newly proposed 2025 budget.
Advanced weapons systems and other scientific advancements account for the majority of the investing progress and continue to do so.
Like the US, Japan is struggling to attract regular troops. Next February, Japan’s Ministry of Defense established a board to solve the problem and, not surprisingly, suggested higher pay and better working and living conditions for men and their people.
However, the screen also made a point about the need to compete with the private sector for experts in crucial technologies like digital protection. As the transition to high-tech war-fighting features progresses, this is likely to be a problem.
The government of prime minister Fumio Kishida approved the governmental 2025 budget plan in December 2022 as part of an annual improvement report on Japan’s protection pressure development plan.
The” Three Strategic Documents,” which include the National Security Strategy, the accompanying National Defense Strategy, and the Defense Buildup Program, provide the outline of the plan.
The Defense Buildup Program listed seven major programs as critical for radically strengthening the military: stand-off security ( protection from a distance ), integrated air and missile security, unmanned security capabilities, cross-domain operational capabilities, command and control and intelligence-related functions, mobile implementation capabilities and civil security, and sustainability and endurance.
According to this month’s report, progress has been made on all grades. On stand-off security, both the implementation of superior Model 12 surface-to-ship guided missiles and the consolidation of Tomahawk missiles were brought forth from governmental 2026 to governmental 2025.
From March to August 2024, the Maritime Self-Defense Force and other officers were trained on how to operate Tomahawk weapons.
Type 12 missiles are made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ( MHI), Japan’s top defense contractor. Tomahawk cruise missiles are produced by United security specialist Raytheon and imported from the US.
In July, the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency of Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced that two Hyper-Velocity Gliding Projectile ( HVGP ) test launches had been conducted in California, one in March and one in April.
According to Defense News, a high-supersonic HVGP with a maximum variety of 500km should be fielded by Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force in 2026. Around the end of the decade, a fast HVGP with a 3, 000km collection is anticipated. Additionally, MHI produces HVGPs.
It appears that Japan will reduce its reliance on defence technology imported from the US and rely instead on its own excellent manufacturing capacity as Boeing’s production of Patriot missiles is constrained.
By the end of fiscal 2025, Japan intends to begin launching a satellite constellation to offer the target tracking and tracking capabilities needed for stand-off defense.
A Private Finance Initiative ( PFI), which combines management and technical expertise with private sector funds to build and run public facilities, will support the project.
The completion of the fundamental design of an Aegis-equipped ship and the accelerating completion of the same ship’s detailed design are just two examples of the progress made in the integration of air and missile defense capability.
Moreover, Japan and the US announced in May a joint Glide Phase Interceptor ( GPI ) guided missile development program.
During the glide-phase of hypersonic flight, the US will provide hypersonic missile defense capability, while Japan will take the lead in the creation of rocket motors and propulsion components.
According to Paul Kallender, a space and defense expert from Japan, the Keio Research Institute at the Shonan Fujisawa Campus explains that the US is going to Japan for help with its GLP, not anyone else.
In fiscal 2023, Japan acquired ten types of unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAVs ), or drones. Japanese mid-range and small-area UAVs and an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle ( UUV) are currently operational.
Cross-domain operational capabilities encompass space, cyber, electromagnetic, ground, maritime and air domains.
Developments that have been reported this year include the creation of a new 7th Surface-to-Ship Missile Regiment in southwest Japan, the reorganization of the Ground Self-Defense Force 2nd Special Forces Brigade, and the “new edition” of the Air Self-Defense Force 2nd Space System Management Squadron.
For more efficient command and control, Japan is also expanding its cloud computing capabilities. The ground, maritime, and air self-defense forces have begun to develop and manufacture cloud-based command and control services. With the goal of consolidating a Ministry of Defense Cloud, these will be coordinated by a Central Command System.
One medium- and one small-sized vessel scheduled to be launched in the third quarter of fiscal 2024 will be run by a new Self-Defense Force Maritime Transport Group in the field of mobile deployment capability and citizen protection.
In fiscal 2023, the Self-Defense Forces also purchased two multi-purpose helicopters and provided a PFI vessel for those who had fled the Noto Peninsula Earthquake. The sustainability and resiliency category includes the provision of ammunition, fuel and maintenance.
The ministry intends to develop a master plan for the consolidation and reconstruction of Self-Defense Forces facilities and begin structural relocating and reinforcement in accordance with their function and significance. In this connection, it plans to construct 36 new gunpowder magazines in six facilities nationwide.
Other important initiatives include developing next-generation satellites, stepping up R&, D, promoting the use of more AI and strengthening the defense production base, the Japan-US alliance and information security.
The Ministry of Defense intends to create a new generation of defense communication satellites in the seven years to 2031 in order to replace the X-band satellites that are currently in use.
The project includes producing both ground stations and satellites. A new Space Operations Group will be established to carry out space-based surveillance and response missions.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense intends to launch a research institute to research cutting-edge technologies for the defense sector in October 2024.
The Defense Innovation Technology Institute, which is modeled after the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA ), will seek to hire researchers from the ministry itself, as well as from the private sector and academia.
The new institute will aim to develop “multi-use cutting-edge technologies that contribute to defense equipment development, and to produce equipment that leads to defense innovation,” as part of the National Defense Strategy’s announcement in December 2022.
The Ministry of Defense will employ experts in AI, robotics, and physics to create and manage projects like the development of autonomous unmanned vehicles, novel submarine detection techniques, and the use of dual-use technologies shared by the military and the private sector, according to a report from Kyodo news agency.
The list of new Japanese defense projects goes on but the trend is clear: Japan is developing a high-tech “porcupine defense” strategy to deter China, North Korea and Russia. The porcupine defense concept was wishful strategic thinking when it was first introduced in 1970s Japan, but it is now being put into practice.
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