CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand \u2014 While Japan\u2019s Cabinet has approved a record defense budget for 2025, the 13th growth year in a row, Tokyo\u2019s military posture vis-\u00e0-vis regional threats remains a work on progress, according a U.S. analyst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grant Newsham, senior research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, told Defense News that \u201cdecades of pathological dependence\u201d on the United States have left Japan\u2019s military \u201ca stunted force not really able to operate efficiently or effectively in most cases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is at a time when Japan perceives unprecedented external threats. The government\u2019s 2024 iteration of its annual Defense of Japan white paper noted, \u201cJapan is facing the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Japan is alarmed by China intruding into its southwestern archipelago, and it regards Russia and North Korea\u2019s missile and nuclear programs as serious risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Newsham noted, \u201cI think Japan recognizes and understands the seriousness of the threats it faces from China, North Korea and Russia. Ukraine really spurred Japanese awareness \u2013 figuring that Taiwan was next, with everything that would portend for Japan\u2019s security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet the former U.S. Marine Corps officer warned the threat perception has yet to manifest itself fully in defense programs. \u201cThis hasn\u2019t, however, translated into a Japan Self-Defense Force that\u2019s organized and capable of fighting a war \u2013 despite having some niche capabilities that would be very helpful if employed in support of U.S. forces,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Approved on Dec. 27, 2024, the upcoming defense budget beginning April 1 is up 9.4% to a record 8.7 trillion yen, the equivalent of $55.1 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The FY2025 defense budget is higher than the 8.54 trillion yen requested last September, because it adds 123.8 billion yen for a new communications satellite to replace the Kirameki-2 that will retire in 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stand-off weapons are a priority, with 939 billion yen allocated to items such as ground- and sea-launched Type 12 anti-ship missiles, hyper-velocity gliding projectiles for island defense, and development of submarine-launched missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Considerable funds are being spent overseas for Kongsberg\u2019s Joint Strike Missile for Japan\u2019s F-35A fighters, Tomahawk cruise missiles to arm destroyers, and extended-range Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missiles (JASSM-ER) for F-15 fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Jan. 15, the U.S. State Department approved a $39 million sale of 16 JASSM-ERs, following an approval for 50 such missiles in Aug. 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, depreciation of the yen is adversely impacting Japan\u2019s overseas purchases. As a result, Tokyo paid 123.9 billion yen more in fiscal 2023 for U.S.-sourced Foreign Military Sales equipment than it had originally assumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other upcoming imports include two MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones and six American-manufactured V-BAT drones to operate from Japanese warships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Integrated air and missile defense is a priority for Japan too, with 533 billion yen allotted to various interceptor missiles and mobile reconnaissance radars in places like Okinawa, where thousands of American troops are based.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Describing Tokyo\u2019s ongoing security reliance on the U.S., Newsham said, \u201cThe Americans and Japanese either hang together or hang separately, paraphrasing Ben Franklin. The Americans might have a chance alone against the Chinese, but it would be tough. The Japanese have no chance at all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Approved on Dec. 27, 2024, the upcoming defense budget beginning April 1 is up 9.4% to a record 8.7 trillion yen, the equivalent of $55.1 billion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":117142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":45,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[45,160,11,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3492],"class_list":["post-69204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"NQIMA6WWORFSLOBVQPRIVXF2VE","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/asia-pacific\/2025\/01\/16\/japans-passes-record-defense-budget-while-still-playing-catch-up\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n