Japan plans record defence spending in 2022 with 10th straight annual increase
The Hindu
The higher spending plan comes against a backdrop of China's rapid military expansion and North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government on Friday approved record defence spending, with a 10th straight annual increase in 2022, against a backdrop of China's rapid military expansion and North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes.
The budget for the fiscal year starting April 1 will rise 1.1% to 5.4 trillion yen ($47.18 billion), still less than a quarter of China's military budget this year according to official Beijing data.
The higher spending plan follows a meeting in April between U.S. President Joe Biden and Japan's then-premier Yoshihide Suga, in which Mr. Suga pledged to strengthen his country's defence capability in light of a more challenging regional security environment.
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