Japan indicates end to era of declining defence spending
The latest annual economic policy guidelines of the Japanese government, led by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), are likely to reverse the downward trend in ever-decreasing defence budgets since 2003 should the party remain in power beyond general elections that must be held by 19 October.
The so-called 'Honebuto' guidelines, issued on 23 June by the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, a key government economic panel under Prime Minister Taro Aso, marked a clear departure from the belt-tightening fiscal policy on defence budgets laid down by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
The Honebuto guidelines, for the first time, named North Korea as a possible threat and stressed the necessity to "appropriately deal with" Pyongyang's missile launches and nuclear tests, suggesting the country should develop a ballistic missile defence system.
In Japan the Honebuto system allows the prime minister's office to exert leadership in the development of budgets and to clean up state finances by rearranging top priority items.
The LDP's defence policy-making panel has requested the Aso administration to secure the Ministry of Defence's multi-year budgets for sea-launched cruise missiles, which are carried on Aegis-equipped destroyers and could be used to counter a hostile country's missile sites. The move comes as part of the country's new National Defence Program Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2010 to 2014, to be compiled by the end of this year.
The panel has also requested that an early warning satellite system be introduced to detect the launch of ballistic missiles, for which Japan currently relies on the United States.
The new national defence programme guidelines will include an increase in the size of the Ground Self-Defence Force to 160,000 the same level as 1995 from 155,000, which the previous 2004 guidelines laid down as a target.
Japan's national defence budget has declined for seven consecutive years. It totalled 4.77 trillion yen (USD 49.3 billion) for the fiscal year that started in April.
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