Japan's Diet passed a record defense budget of ¥11.5 trillion (approximately $75 billion) for fiscal year 2026 on Tuesday, continuing the country's dramatic military buildup that began with the revised National Security Strategy in 2022. The budget represents a 12 percent increase over the previous year.
Where the Money Goes
The largest allocation is for stand-off defense capabilities, including long-range cruise missiles that can strike targets over 1,000 kilometers away. Japan is also investing heavily in cyber warfare capabilities, space-based surveillance systems, and next-generation fighter aircraft developed jointly with the UK and Italy.
The budget includes funding for the deployment of US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles and the expansion of submarine operations in the East China Sea. Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force will commission two new destroyers equipped with the Aegis missile defense system.
Regional Context
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba framed the spending as essential to maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific. Japan's defense transformation has been driven by China's military expansion, North Korea's missile tests, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which shattered assumptions about the stability of the post-Cold War order.
"Japan's security environment is the most severe since World War II. We must be prepared to defend ourselves and contribute to regional stability," Ishiba told parliament.
China's foreign ministry criticized the budget as "a dangerous departure from Japan's peace constitution." South Korea and the Philippines, however, have broadly supported Japan's rearmament as a counterbalance to Chinese assertiveness.
