The draft defense budget sets a new spending record for the 12th straight year amid mounting regional threats and U.S. alliance pressure.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s second Izumo-class helicopter carrier JS Kaga, whose bow has been modified to a rectangular shape to enable operations of the stealth F-35B fighter.
Japan is accelerating its defense buildup amid rising geopolitical tensions, driven by mounting military pressure from three nuclear-armed neighbors — China, North Korea, and Russia — and calls from the United States for higher defense spending.
On December 26, the cabinet of Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae approved a draft defense budget for fiscal year 2026 totaling 9.04 trillion yen ($58 billion), including expenditures related to the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. The nation’s fiscal year begins in April.
The budget represents a 3.8 percent increase from the previous year, marking the first time Japan’s defense spending has exceeded 9 trillion yen and extending its record-high trajectory to a 12th consecutive year. Compared with the initial budget request submitted in August, which stood at 8.85 trillion yen, the total was increased by about 190 billion yen.
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