Japan Press Weekly

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2023 December 20 - 2024 January 9 [POLITICS]

Gov’t proposes almost 8 trillion yen for military spending in 2024 budget

The Kishida government at a Cabinet meeting on December 22 adopted a government-proposed budget for fiscal 2024, appropriating about 7.95 trillion yen for military spending.

The proposed figure in the general account budget tops 112.7 trillion yen, and the arms budget hits a record-high for ten consecutive years.

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira on the same day said that the government draft budget shows that Japan is heading down on a very dangerous road in line with the “43 trillion yen over the next five years” for the planned major arms buildup.

Koike pointed out that the proposed military expenditures increased by as much as 2.5 trillion yen in only two years after the Kishida government stepped out into a major military expansion to acquire the capability to attack enemy missile bases, and that with the 0.8 trillion yen in the 2023 supplementary budget approved late last year, the military budget reaches 8.7 trillion yen,

He further pointed out that items toward the possession of enemy-base strike capabilities are budgeted for: development and mass production of long-range missiles, including hypersonic-speed guided missiles; building ships equipped with an Aegis system; establishment of a joint operation command to place the Self-Defense Forces under the command of the U.S. military; and strengthening of functions at SDF bases in preparation for enemy strikes.

He stated that it is outrageous for the government to continue pushing ahead with the plan to construct a new U.S. base in the Henoko area in Okinawa’s Nago City in complete disregard of Okinawans’ demands and Okinawa’s local autonomy.