Japan has set a record draft defense budget of 9.04 trillion yen for fiscal 2026, local media reported on Friday, December 26, 2025.
This new figure surpasses the previous high of 8.7 trillion yen for fiscal 2025 and aligns with Japan’s plan to allocate about 43 trillion yen to defense between fiscal 2023 and 2027.
Of the total, 100.1 billion yen is earmarked for the "Shield" layered coastal defense system—which will need a range of aerial, surface, and underwater vehicles—while 1.1 billion yen will fund evaluations of long-endurance drones to counter potential airspace violations.
Earlier this month, an 18.3 trillion yen supplementary budget for fiscal 2025 was enacted, including 1.7 trillion yen for security and diplomacy. This move pushes Japan’s defense spending to roughly 2% of GDP within fiscal 2025—two years ahead of its original target.
For decades, Japan capped annual defense outlays at around 1% of GDP (about 5 trillion yen), reflecting its pacifist stance under the war-renouncing Constitution. But in 2022, the government set a goal to gradually raise defense-related spending to 2% of GDP by fiscal 2027.
With this record budget, Japan is clearly accelerating its defense buildup—shifting gears in a changing regional landscape and attracting global attention to its security strategy. 🛡️🚀
Reference(s):
Japan's defense budget tops record 9 trillion yen for fiscal 2026
cgtn.com
