Japan’s government on Friday approved a record budget for the next fiscal year, boosting spending on social welfare and defense to deal with regional threats as the population ages.
The $730 billion budget for the year through April 2025, approved by the Cabinet, includes $55 billion in defense spending.
It also includes social security spending of about 38.3 trillion yen – up from 37.7 trillion yen the previous year.
The Defense Ministry said in a briefing document that Japan faces its “toughest and most complex security environment” since World War II, reiterating Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s warning.
Japan has a post-war pacifist constitution, which limits its military capability to directly defensive measures.
But it updated key security and defense policies in 2022, clearly outlining the challenge posed by China, and committed to doubling its defense spending to the NATO standard of 2% of GDP by 2027.
The $55 billion approved Friday will help pay for measures to attract recruits to the Japan Self-Defense Forces and improve relations between the U.S. and Japanese militaries with local people in Okinawa.
It would also lead to a system to collect satellite information on ballistic missiles, such as those fired by North Korea, and the movement of ships in waters around Japan, including in areas disputed with China.
“Strengthening our defense capabilities is something we are actively working on,” Ishiba said at an event organized by Japan. Yomiuri Thursday’s newspaper.
“Now no matter how good our military tanks or vehicles are, it is useless if we don’t have enough people to carry them,” said the prime minister, who promised to make up for the shortage of new troops.
Another challenge facing the country is its aging population due to a persistently low birth rate and a cautious attitude towards immigration.
Japan is one of the oldest societies in the world, and this year the proportion of people aged 65 or older reached a record 29.3%.
The draft budget needs to be approved by parliament, and will require cooperation from the opposition parties, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its smaller coalition partner Komeito, which lost their majority in October’s snap election.
Ishiba remains prime minister despite leading the coalition to its worst general election result in 15 years.
Voting for the elections for the upper house of parliament will take place in the summer of 2025.