Japan unveils record US$47 billion defence budget aimed at countering China’s military rise
- It’s the fifth consecutive year that the government has announced a record budget for the defence forces
- The 2019 allocation will cover a US missile interceptor system, six stealth fighter jets and part of a new aircraft carrier
Japan’s defence budget will swell to a record US$47 billion in the next financial year with Tokyo strengthening missile defences and deploying stealth jets in a bid to counter China.
The defence spending, announced on Friday, was part of a US$912 billion national budget for the financial year starting in April 2019, approved by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet.
The government set aside 5.26 trillion yen (US$47 billion) for defence, the fifth record year in a row, defence ministry officials said.
The defence funding will cover the cost of introducing the US military’s Aegis Ashore land-based missile interceptor system, the officials said.
The FY 2019 allocation covers six F-35A stealth jets, and part of it will be spent on Japan’s first aircraft carriers since the second world war.