Dec. 22 (UPI) — The Japanese Parliament approved a record $56 billion defense budget proposal for fiscal 2024 along with revisions allowing it to send ammunition to the United States and potentially aid Ukraine’s war efforts.
Under the proposal, the Japanese government will spend 16.5% more in its upcoming defense budget over the next year beginning in April, which was nearly $8 billion more than the country spent on its defense in the previous fiscal year.
Lawmakers also proposed revisions to its Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology, which will permit the shipment of weapons made in Japan under a foreign license, including both products and parts, back to the country of origin.
If approved, Japan planned to deliver to the United States an untold number of Patriot surface-to-air missiles that were made in Japan but licensed by U.S. companies.
The revision would also permit Japan to sell nonlethal weapon components, such as fighter jet engines, as long as these parts are not singularly designed to cause harm.
Notably, under the new policy Japan would also provide military equipment to nations defending themselves from invasion, like Ukraine.
Japan is currently restricted from directly exporting lethal weapons to countries facing armed attacks, but the nation still has potential to indirectly support Ukraine by providing ammunition to other Western allies, who can then send the supplies to Kyiv.
The Three Principles refresh would deliver “a key policy instrument to ensure peace and stability, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, to deter unilateral changes to the status quo by force,” according to the proposal.
The export measure, however, still faces final approval as Japan’s ruling parties have yet to sign off on it, creating some uncertainty for a fighter jet development effort with Britain and Italy.
The draft on the budget measure is expected to pass Japan’s bicameral legislature in the coming months after the ruling party works through some of the finer details of the budget.
In August, the Japanese Ministry of Defense asked for $53 billion for fiscal 2024, which was roughly 12% more than the government spent in fiscal 2022.
The budget increase marked the government’s 10th consecutive all-time high on annual defense spending as Japan seeks to strengthen air and missile defense systems in light of rising territorial disputes throughout the Indo-Pacific.
The package provides $11 billion for missile defense equipment and $6.44 billion for long-range missiles that will improve Japan’s ability to launch counterstrikes in the region, the defense ministry said.
The bill included more than $3 billion to build two Aegis destroyers — naval warships developed by the United States, which are equipped with advanced weapons systems– which will be brought online in 2027 and 2028 to defend against airborne attacks.
In a lateral move, the government also eased strict regulations that had limited the export of defense equipment since 2014, aiming to boost exchanges of weapons and ammunition with the United States and other Western allies in the region.
Discussions on the trade revisions are expected to continue in the Japanese legislature in the weeks ahead, with lawmakers wanting to move cautiously on the issue of weapons exports, while they face a February deadline to finalize all budget matters.
Since taking office in 2021, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has prioritized ramping up the country’s military capabilities.
In August, Kishida announced a new National Security Strategy and National Defense Program, which calls for $315 billion in military spending over the next five years, with plans for a new joint headquarters to command Japan’s three military branches and a munitions stockpile for protracted war.
