Japan's Defense Ministry will seek another record budget of over 5.4 trillion yen ($49 billion) for fiscal 2022, aiming to beef up its capability around remote southwestern islands, Kyodo cited government sources as saying. The request would exceed the ministry's highest-ever 5.3 trillion yen initial budget for fiscal 2021 started in April and also reflects an increase in the cost to develop cutting-edge technologies, such as unmanned aircraft using artificial intelligence, according to the sources. The defense budget could further expand, possibly topping 1 percent of Japan's gross domestic product when it is finalized in December, as the request excludes outlays linked to hosting U.S. military bases. Such outlays total about 200 billion yen every year. Japan's defense budget has long stayed at around 1 percent of its GDP, in light of the country's postwar pacifist Constitution and since the Cabinet decided in 1976 that the outlays should not exceed 1 percent. The last time the defense expenditure exceeded 1 percent was in fiscal 2010 when the GDP shrank sharply following the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. The budget request, which will be made by Aug. 31, will include increased spending on Self-Defense Forces equipment, such as F-35 fighter jets and small and mid-sized transport ships.
