Japanese defence minister Gen Nakatani attends a meeting in the Japan Ministry of Defence on Friday. — THE JAPAN NEWS/VNA Photo

TOKYO — Japan’s defence spending for fiscal 2025 will increase to a record high of ¥8.7 trillion (US$55 billion), up 9.4 per cent from the previous year, after the government approved a draft defence budget.

The budget, which includes funding for the Digital Agency and US military reorganisation, has risen for the 13th straight year as the country seeks to deter China and North Korea as they continue expanding their military capabilities.

The government aims to use the increase in spending to strengthen the country’s counterattack capabilities through the introduction of long-range missiles and by developing a satellite network.

“Japan faces national security circumstances which are the most serious and complicated since the end of World War II,” Japanese defence minister Gen Nakatani said during a meeting at the defence ministry on Friday. “It is an urgent task to fundamentally strengthen defence capabilities.”

The government is pushing forward with its plan to allocate a total of about ¥43 trillion for defence spending over a five-year period which started in fiscal 2023. The next fiscal year marks the third year of the plan.

The government is looking to acquire counterattack capabilities for self-defence purposes, such as gaining the ability to strike enemy missile bases.

In the proposed budget, ¥16.8 billion is earmarked for the introduction of a new type of ship-launched missile which is an improved version of the Ground Self-Defence Forces’ Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile.

The government will also begin research to develop equipment that can launch long-range missiles vertically from submarines.

The budget also allocates ¥283.2 billion to build a satellite constellation network — small satellites grouped together — which will work together as ‘eyes’ of the counterattack capabilities to identify attack targets. The satellites will be launched one by one starting at the end of fiscal 2025 and the constellation is set to begin operating in fiscal 2027. — THE JAPAN NEWS/ANN