Japan gets serious about defense spending hike as year-end deadline looms

A Ground Self-Defense Force Type 16 maneuver combat vehicle fires during an annual training session near Mount Fuji at the Higashifuji training field in Gotemba,Shizuoka Prefecture, in June. | REUTERS

Nov 3, 2026

As 2026 winds down and a year-end deadline for revisions to three key security documents looms, Japanese policymakers are getting serious about plans for a massive defense spending hike.

The government and ruling coalition are reportedly considering nearly doubling defense spending over the next five years as Japan looks to further strengthen the country’s military capabilities amid what Tokyo says is an increasingly fraught regional security environment.

One plan for the five years from April 2027 could see spending rise to as much as ¥80 trillion ($508 billion), up about 1.8 times the roughly ¥43 trillion allocated under the current plan that began in fiscal 2023.

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