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Multiple Japanese media outlets reported on the 17th, citing sources, that Japan's defense spending in 2025 may exceed 8 trillion yen (about 38.83 billion yuan) for the first time, setting a new historical high.

According to the previous plan of the Japanese government, from 2023 to 2027, the Japanese government's five-year defense expenditure is expected to reach about 43 trillion yen (about 2 trillion yuan), nearly 1.6 times that of the previous five years.

Screenshot of a report from Japan's Kyodo News Agency

Xiang Haoyu, a distinguished researcher at the Asia-Pacific Institute of the China Institute of International Studies, analyzed in an interview with a reporter from China Central Radio and Television Global Information Radio that according to the three security policy documents, namely the new version of the "National Security Strategy", "National Defense Strategy" and "Defense Force Preparation Plan" adopted by the Japanese government at the end of 2022, Japan's defense budget for 2025 will exceed 8 trillion yen, which is a set arrangement, and defense expenses will mainly be used at the following levels.

The three security documents adopted by the Japanese government set out the largest military expansion policy since World War II. One of the important policy changes is to double the defense spending. In the next two fiscal years, Japan's defense budget will move towards the 9 trillion yen and 10 trillion yen mark.

In the previously drafted defense policy document, Japan proposed seven key areas for strengthening its defense capabilities, the most important of which is to develop the attack capability of so-called standoff missiles. To this end, Japan is accelerating the development and deployment of medium- and long-range missiles, including spending huge sums of money to purchase and deploy Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States, and will further purchase F-35 fighter jets.

In addition, Japan is also building advanced Aegis warships, advancing the research and development and deployment of drones, accelerating the development of advanced combat capabilities in the cyber and space fields, strengthening military deployments on outlying islands in the southwest, transforming Japan's civilian ports and airports to achieve dual-use military and civilian purposes, and rebuilding and expanding Japan's weapons and ammunition depots... These expenditures have caused Japan's defense budget to swell.

Screenshot of the report from Japan's Sankei Shimbun

Japan's defense spending is expected to exceed 8 trillion yen in 2025, marking the twelfth consecutive year of military spending increases since 2013.

In recent years, Japan has used the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in the Taiwan Strait, as well as the Ukrainian crisis, to exaggerate tension and create panic. It has taken the opportunity to drastically adjust its security policies, increase its defense budget year by year, and continuously relax arms export restrictions, repeatedly breaking through the restrictions of the peace constitution.

Xiang Haoyu further analyzed and pointed out that this shows that Japan is gradually breaking through the traditional policy of "exclusively defensive" and posing a security threat to the East Asian region.

In recent years, the Japanese government has constantly exaggerated the so-called severe and complex external security environment, hyped up external threats, incited the public's sense of crisis, and used this as an excuse to accelerate the breakthrough of the post-war military restricted zone and promote policy self-relaxation.

On the one hand, Japan has accelerated its military cooperation with the United States and its allies. On the other hand, it has also accelerated the pace of so-called "independent military strengthening" and the construction of offensive military capabilities.

These trends show that Japan is gradually breaking through its traditional "exclusively defensive" policy and transforming itself into a military force with more extensive offensive capabilities. In fact, these practices of Japan are profoundly changing the strategic balance in East Asia.

As Japan intensifies its efforts to strengthen its military and expand its weapons, there has been a dangerous tendency to incite regional conflicts, provoke geopolitical confrontations, and intervene in geopolitical conflicts. The tension in East Asia has triggered an arms race.

If Japan increases its defense spending to 10 trillion yen by 2027, its ranking in military spending among countries and regions around the world will jump from ninth to third. This also indicates that Japan will truly become a military power and completely deviate from the path of peaceful development after World War II.