With China’s rapid military development and the imminent threat from North Korea, Japan’s Defense Ministry is requesting an 8.3 percent Japanese Military Budget increase in 2020, the greatest increase in more than two decades and the largest in more than two decades.
The Japanese Defence Ministry was informed about the draught budget on Wednesday afternoon, which calls for a total of $51.9 billion. The ministry stated that the budget would assist the country’s military in strengthening its ability to respond to new threats, such as cyber, space, and electromagnetic warfare, as well as traditional threats.
There are $690 million in new defense spending recommended by the Defense Ministry, which includes the budget to expand the Japan Self-Defense Forces’ space unit and Space Situational Awareness surveillance system and $340 million to expand the Japan Self-Defense Forces’ cyberspace defense unit and electromagnetic warfare capabilities.
The budget must yet be approved by the Japanese parliament, which is expected to happen later this year. If the proposal is adopted, it will mark the ninth consecutive year that Japan’s military spending has increased.