Japan plans record $6.7 bln-plus defence spending in extra budget -Kyodo (updated)
18/11/2021 23:58
(Adds details, background)
TOKYO, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Japan plans to allocate at least
770 billion yen ($6.74 billion) for defence in a supplementary
budget expected to be announced along with an economic stimulus
package on Friday, Kyodo News and other media reported.
That amount - the most for defence in a supplementary budget
- would dwarf the 430 billion yen earmarked in an extra budget
in fiscal 2019, and would include outlays for strengthening
Japan's defence capabilities near the southwestern islands,
Kyodo reported.
Japan has long committed to keeping its military budgets
within 1 percent of GDP, a number that has long eased concern at
home and abroad about any revival of the militarism that led
Japan into World War Two.
But with concern growing about China's military in the
disputed East China Sea, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP) included a goal of spending 2% of GDP or more on the
military in its policy platform ahead of an election held on Oct
31 - a sign that things might be changing.
The United States has been pushing key allies to spend more
on defence and public sentiment in Japan has shown signs of
shifting away from concerns about rearming to growing alarm over
China's military assertiveness in Asia, particularly toward
Taiwan.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government is expected to
announce a record 55.7 trillion-yen stimulus package on Friday
to help the country recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the
Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2S916N
($1 = 114.2700 yen)
(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim and Elaine Lies in Tokyo
Editing by Matthew Lewis and David Gregorio)
((ran.kim@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4520-1228;))