Japanese Defence Ministry Requests Record $50Mln Budget for 2020 Fiscal Year

Sputnik News

10:33 31.08.2019

TOKYO (Sputnik) - Japan may spend a record 5.32 trillion yen (about $50 billion) on defence in 2020, amid rising tensions with its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific, if the Defence Ministry's budget request, which it made public on its website, is approved.

The new budget will fund the purchase of fighter jets, including F35-B aircraft, an upgrade to two existing destroyers to serve as aircraft carriers for the F-35Bs and the development of a Japanese next-generation fighter jet.

The budget also aims to address Japan's expanding defence capabilities in space and cyber-related activities. Additionally, Japan's Defense Ministry intends to invest $38 million in the research of the capability of electromagnetic waves of disrupting enemy communication systems.

The new budget increase marks the eighth consecutive year that Japan has been expanding its military spending. Since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in 2012, Tokyo has been beefing up its military capabilities and increasing military cooperation with the United States.

On Friday, the Japanese Defence Ministry requested a 1.2 percent increase to its budget, from $47 billion last year, for the 2020 fiscal year, which lasts from April 2020 to March 2021.

In mid-August, Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya vowed to bolster surveillance efforts in the region due to the possibility that North Korea would launch more missiles.

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