Introducing 52,000 unmanned equipment! Japan's dangerous plan exposed

[Global Times Special Correspondent in Japan, Chu Xin, Global Times Reporter, Zhang Wanshi] Recently, a leaked draft of Japan's defense planning has revealed the "remilitarization" ambitions of the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. According to a report by Kyodo News on the 16th, a draft of one of the three security documents that the Japanese government plans to revise by the end of the year—the "Defense Capability Development Plan"—has been leaked. The draft proposes that between 2027 and 2031, the Japanese government intends to introduce approximately 52,000 unmanned systems for long-range strikes and intelligence collection. It is noteworthy that Kyodo News stated that the draft sets the goal of "containing China, Russia, and North Korea," raising concerns that "this may exacerbate the regional arms race." In response, some Japanese netizens questioned, "Is there no limit to the military expansion budget?"

According to reports, multiple sources revealed on the 16th that, based on the draft, the so-called strengthening of "out-of-area defense" (including long-range missiles for attacking enemy bases) is estimated to cost over 90 trillion yen (10,000 yen is approximately 430 RMB), nearly double the current plan. Senior officials from the ruling party indicated that the total defense budget for the next five years could expand to 70 trillion to 80 trillion yen, far exceeding the approximately 43 trillion yen planned for 2023 to 2027, making the issue of securing funding a focal point.

This radical military expansion plan has caused a stir in Japanese public opinion. A military enthusiast website in Japan published an article stating that Kyodo News released a "major report shaking Japan's security policy," and the figures disclosed in the draft "are extremely rare compared to the past procurement scale of the Self-Defense Forces, bringing a huge shock."

According to Kyodo News, the funding required to enhance defense capabilities with artificial intelligence and unmanned systems is approximately 70 trillion yen, six times the current plan. Among an estimated scale of about 50,000 drones, there are about 10,000 long-range ground attack types, about 1,300 anti-ship types, and about 7,500 reconnaissance types. In addition, the draft also establishes a new "sustained response capability," estimated to require about 10 trillion yen, with the goal of "first ensuring the ability to sustain operations for one year," for which ammunition, missiles, and fuel will be stockpiled.

In fact, since taking office, the Takaichi government’s radical military expansion policy has faced numerous criticisms. A recent commentary by the Asahi Shimbun stated that the Takaichi administration's approach is to increase defense spending and relax weapon exports, hollowing out the principle of exclusively defensive capabilities with the ability to attack enemy bases, and criticized the Liberal Democratic Party's proposed draft for revising the "three security documents" as "lacking responsibility and prioritizing funding sources."

A commentary in the Mainichi Shimbun criticized the government's defense budget as "inflated and bloated": the target of Japan's defense spending being 2% of GDP is itself a product of "total amount first," detached from actual defense needs; currently, Japan's unused defense budget and carryover funds in recent years have reached about 1 trillion yen, and on this basis, continuing to increase the five-year defense budget to 70 trillion to 80 trillion yen is a typical case of prioritizing scale over demand. The media also criticized the Ministry of Defense's budget estimates as deliberately inflated and blindly increased, even packaging drone procurement in the "Defense White Paper" as "driving economic growth," with massive military spending continuously squeezing resources for people's livelihoods, further exacerbating Japan's fiscal vulnerability.

The Japanese public is also filled with doubts and dissatisfaction regarding this costly military expansion plan. Some Japanese netizens expressed that drone technology iterates very quickly, questioning, "Will stockpiling 50,000 drones until they become outdated be a waste of money?" Another netizen sharply asked, "While the food consumption tax is being lowered, how can we spend 9 trillion yen on so-called counterattack capabilities? Where will the money come from?"

Da Zhigang, a researcher at the Northeast Asia Research Institute of the Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences, told Global Times reporters on the 17th that Japan's recent defense measures echo the layout of new combat methods, especially unmanned combat systems, outlined in the 2026 version of the "Defense White Paper," aiming to build integrated combat capabilities. This indicates that beyond the traditional conventional defense forces of the Ground, Maritime, and Air Self-Defense Forces, Japan is highly focused on the asymmetric combat effectiveness demonstrated by unmanned systems. Overall, this trend is consistent with Japan's push for "remilitarization" and the integration of artificial intelligence into modern warfare. Da Zhigang stated that as part of Japan's military expansion and even "remilitarization," it cannot be ruled out that the Japanese government will squeeze resources from education, technology, social security, and livelihood support sectors, directing limited funds towards national defense and new combat methods like drones. This is bound to provoke opposition from the Japanese public, opposition parties, and the overall domestic situation. "Japan's pace of 'remilitarization' continues to accelerate, breaking through in many areas. Japan claims it is to respond to geopolitical security risks, yet it adds numerous unstable factors and security risks to the region, which is tantamount to laying the fuse for conflict in Northeast Asia."