Japan to spend more than USD240 billion on defence over the next five years

摘要

The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe formally approved a plan on 18 December to spend JPY27.47 trillion (USD242.7 billion) on defence over the next five years, but hopes that this figure can be brought down by about JPY 1.97 trillion through cost-cutting measures.The government's new defence policy outline, which runs from fiscal year 2019 (FY 2019) to FY 2023, features, among other things, the conversion of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's (JMSDF's) two Izumo-class helicopter carriers into multirole aircraft carriers from which the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter can be operated.Approved on 18 December, the new National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPGs) and the associated Mid-Term Defense Plan (MTDP) also put a strong emphasis on three new defence domains - cyber, space, and electronic warfare (EW) - which are expected to form part of Japan's new "multidimensional integrated defence force".