Panel to propose Japan weigh defense spending above 2% of GDP
A Defense Ministry panel is set to propose that the government consider raising defense spending beyond the current goal of 2 percent of gross domestic product, sources close to the matter said Sunday.
In a draft proposal to be presented to the government soon, the panel, set up in February 2024, also calls for discussions on deploying submarines equipped with long-range missiles, including nuclear-powered ones, to strengthen the country's deterrence capability, the sources said.
It remains unclear how the proposal will be reflected in Japan's defense policy, as questions remain over how to fund a larger budget and whether using nuclear power for defense purposes would conflict with the country's policy of peaceful atomic energy use.
The government "should not hesitate to pursue the further strengthening of defense capabilities after the achievement" of the current target to have defense-related spending account for 2 percent of GDP, the panel says in the draft proposal, according to the sources.
The panel says submarines that enable Japan to strike from beyond an enemy's missile range would significantly enhance the country's deterrence capability.
The government should discuss all possible options for propulsion systems, including nuclear power for the submarines, "without taboos," the panel says.
The panel, chaired by Sadayuki Sakakibara, the former chairman of the Japan Business Federation, was set up to discuss how the country's defense capabilities should be bolstered in line with its current defense buildup plan.
The plan, known as the Defense Buildup Program, allocates 43 trillion yen ($298 billion) over five years through March 2028, aiming for defense spending to reach 2 percent of GDP in fiscal 2027.
Japan's annual defense budget had long been capped at around 1 percent of GDP.
The program was adopted in December 2022 as part of three key security documents that marked a major shift in defense policy for a country with a pacifist Constitution, including a plan to acquire strike capabilities that could reach an adversary's territory.
"It is necessary to make efforts to achieve the 2 percent target ahead of schedule and compile the next defense strategy and the buildup plan," the panel says in the draft proposal.
The panel, made up of experts in security, the economy, and science and technology, also calls for the full-fledged introduction of unmanned defense equipment using cutting-edge artificial intelligence technologies, the sources said.
The government should consider using unmanned aircraft for continuous day-and-night aerial monitoring, the panel says, following a May incident in which a Chinese military helicopter entered Japanese airspace near the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which are claimed by Beijing.
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