Japan's Defense Budget Request Sets New Record, Expansion of Military Raises Concerns from Various Sides

In the fiscal year 2027, the budget application scale of Japan's Ministry of Defense has reached a historic high. What is the reaction within Japan to this?

Reporter Li Weiming: According to Japanese sources, the total budget application amount for government departments and agencies in the fiscal year 2027, from April 2027 to March 2028, is expected to exceed 130 trillion yen, a significant increase compared to 122 trillion yen in the fiscal year 2026. Among this, the budget application scale of the Ministry of Defense is expected to reach approximately 8.9 trillion yen, setting a new historical high, and it may further increase in the end.

Reporter Li Weiming: More concerning than the new high in defense budget is that the Ministry of Defense plans to allocate a large amount of funds to introduce offensive weapons and construct a "new type of combat method." The budget will be used to develop underwater-launched hypersonic missiles that are less susceptible to enemy attacks, and to advance research that enables unmanned submarines to have long-range missile launch capabilities, thereby enhancing the ability to attack enemy bases. Additionally, the budget application includes projects to develop low-cost, rapidly producible attack drones with long-range flight capabilities, as well as advancing research to strengthen analysis and command control capabilities through "tactical AI satellites." Some analysts believe that such content in the defense budget conveys a gradually clearer signal that Japan has abandoned its strictly defensive posture in strategic positioning and is shifting towards seeking proactive offense. The government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is accelerating the process of breaking free from the constraints of the post-war peace system through various operations of "re-militarization," reshaping Japan's military framework.

Reporter Li Weiming: At the same time, some analysts point out that Japan's tax revenue for the fiscal year 2026 is expected to be around 83 trillion yen, while this new fiscal year's budget request exceeds 130 trillion yen, which may lead the government to issue more national debt, further exacerbating Japan's fiscal deterioration.

Reporter Li Weiming: The trend of the Takaichi administration's military expansion and "re-militarization," combined with the risk of fiscal imbalance, has raised concerns across various sectors in Japan. An editorial published by the Japan Daily News pointed out that increasing defense military spending while reducing budgets related to social security will not only pressure the lives of the people but also bring political instability. An editorial article from the Asahi Shimbun on the 21st raised the question that increasing the defense budget without fully securing fiscal sources will inevitably increase the burden on the lives of the Japanese people and the operations of Japanese enterprises. Japanese Senator Taku Yamazoe posted on social media, pointing out that the Japanese government is funding military and defense enterprises under the pretext of "ensuring 'sustained combat capability'," which is based on the premise of prolonged warfare and poses the risk of unlimited expansion of military spending.