Japan's defense budget for fiscal 2023 likely to hit record 49.9 bil. dollars

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221219_41/

Japan's defense budget for fiscal 2023 is likely to hit a record high, with officials arranging for a budget of some 6.8 trillion yen, or over 49.9 billion dollars.

The figure for the year starting next April tops fiscal 2022's budget by 1.4 trillion yen, or over 10 billion dollars.

The Japanese government plans to boost defense spending to a total of around 43 trillion yen, or over 316 billion dollars, for the five-year period starting in fiscal 2023. This is 1.6 times that of the current five-year total.

Defense ministry officials presented their budget plan for fiscal 2023 to the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party's security panel on Monday.

The planned expenditures include over 1.5 billion dollars for Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States, which would be deployed as standoff missiles that could be launched from outside an enemy's firing range.

Some 690 million dollars are to be allocated for the production of the Ground Self-Defense Force's Type-12 Surface-to-Ship Missile System.

About 15 billion dollars will be spent on the maintenance and repair of major platforms such as aircraft and vessels. Some 6 billion dollars will be used to secure shells.

About 1.6 billion dollars will be set aside to construct vessels equipped with the Aegis anti-ballistic missile system.