Quick access to main page (top) Direct access to main contents Quick access to main page (bottom)

Japan’s Defense Nightmare: Budget Slashed by 30% Due to Yen Depreciation

Daniel Kim Views  

Japan has secured a defense budget of 43 trillion yen ($272 billion) over five years but lost 30% of its value due to a historic yen depreciation. The country heavily relies on imports for most of its military equipment.

As the dollar’s value has soared, the original budget fell short.

Nikkei reported that despite the Japanese government’s tax rises, the 43 trillion yen it has raised for the defense budget in the past five years will not be sufficient.

At the end of 2022, the Japanese government decided to increase the defense budget, breaking the unwritten rule of “1% of GDP” in response to China’s military strengthening.

The exchange rate was about 108 yen per dollar, and the government did not anticipate further depreciation. However, the current yen-dollar exchange rate has approached 160 yen per dollar, exceeding the government’s expectation of 50 yen. Nikkei criticized, “The Japanese government made a huge miscalculation for the yen-dollar exchange rate.”

During the February meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Defense Subcommittee, many were concerned that the 43 trillion yen budget was insufficient due to unexpected exchange rate fluctuations.

To make matters worse, the cost of raw materials has also been surging, making the price more expensive. According to the 2024 budget, the price of the latest stealth fighter, F35A, imported from the United States was expected to be 11.6 billion yen ($72.8 billion) per unit in 2018. Still, it was 14 billion yen ($88.2 billion). Similarly, the unit price of the Aegis ship also rose from 240 billion yen ($1.5 billion) per ship to 392 billion yen ($2.45 billion).

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida emphasized, “The number was decided in a cabinet meeting to prepare necessary defense capabilities,” and added, “The policy of strengthening defense capabilities within the range of 43 trillion yen has not changed.” He responded to whether the budget exceeds 43 trillion yen during the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors in November last year.

The Japanese government plans to raise corporate income and tobacco taxes over several years to secure the defense budget. However, the implementation date has not been decided.

Daniel Kim
content@viewusglobal.com

Comments0

300

Comments0

[ASIA] Latest Stories

  • How China Allegedly Spied on U.S. Military for Years—And What They Filmed
  • Political Broker Myung Tae Kyun Admits Receiving Cash from South Korea’s First Lady
  • Zhuhai Attack Shocks the Nation: 35 Dead, 43 Injured in Suspected Vehicle Rampage
  • President Yoon Heads to Peru and Brazil for Key Global Summits, Expected to Meet with Biden and Xi
  • China’s Population Keeps Dropping, Needs Trillions to Avoid Collapse
  • Kim Jong Un Cracks the Whip: Everyone Must Love Him, No Exceptions

Weekly Best Articles

  • North Korea Targets South Korea’s GPS with 5-Day Jamming—Are Drone Strikes Next?
  • Propaganda Materials Created by North Korean Defectors Aim to Break Troops’ Loyalty in Ukraine
  • How China Allegedly Spied on U.S. Military for Years—And What They Filmed
  • Thousands of North Korean ‘Students’ Enter Russia: Is Kim Sneaking Soldiers into Russia?
  • North Korea’s Dangerous New Role in Russia’s War: What You Need to Know
  • Leaked Documents Expose North Korea’s Shocking Strategy to Silence Defectors on Human Rights
  • Political Broker Myung Tae Kyun Admits Receiving Cash from South Korea’s First Lady
  • North Korean Forces Begin Combat with Russian Units in Kursk, U.S. Confirms
  • Tesla Fire Kills Four in Toronto, Raising Alarm Over Car’s Door Safety During Emergencies
  • U.S. Lobbying Heats Up: Japanese and Chinese Automakers Invest Millions Amid Policy Shifts
  • Zhuhai Attack Shocks the Nation: 35 Dead, 43 Injured in Suspected Vehicle Rampage
  • Waltz Advocates for South Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership to Challenge China’s Maritime Power

You May Also Like

  • 1
    NASA's Latest Feat: CODEX Coronagraph Installed on ISS to Study Sun's Corona

    LATEST 

  • 2
    Bitcoin Surpasses $90,000, Jump Fuels Optimism for $100K Next

    BUSINESS 

  • 3
    Trump vs. Musk: Who Will Be the Top Narcissist in Politics?

    WORLD 

  • 4
    Trump’s Change of Heart on TikTok: Will He Undo Biden’s Ban?

    DEBATE 

  • 5
    Could Elon Musk Shape Trump’s AI Future? Petition Calls for His Role

    LATEST 

Popular Now

  • 1
    Forgotten Doorstop Turns Into $3.2 Million Masterpiece at Auction

    DEBATE 

  • 2
    North Korea Jams GPS Signals, While Hackers Target South Korean Governement

    WORLD 

  • 3
    South Korea’s Trade Strategy Amid Trump's Second Term: Diplomacy or Defeat?

    DEBATE 

  • 4
    Haitian Airlines Passenger Jet Struck by Gunfire Amid Growing Gang Violence

    WORLD 

  • 5
    China’s Secret Weapon Against Trump’s Tariffs: Clean Energy & Global Markets

    LATEST 

Weekly Best Articles

  • North Korea Targets South Korea’s GPS with 5-Day Jamming—Are Drone Strikes Next?
  • Propaganda Materials Created by North Korean Defectors Aim to Break Troops’ Loyalty in Ukraine
  • How China Allegedly Spied on U.S. Military for Years—And What They Filmed
  • Thousands of North Korean ‘Students’ Enter Russia: Is Kim Sneaking Soldiers into Russia?
  • North Korea’s Dangerous New Role in Russia’s War: What You Need to Know
  • Leaked Documents Expose North Korea’s Shocking Strategy to Silence Defectors on Human Rights
  • Political Broker Myung Tae Kyun Admits Receiving Cash from South Korea’s First Lady
  • North Korean Forces Begin Combat with Russian Units in Kursk, U.S. Confirms
  • Tesla Fire Kills Four in Toronto, Raising Alarm Over Car’s Door Safety During Emergencies
  • U.S. Lobbying Heats Up: Japanese and Chinese Automakers Invest Millions Amid Policy Shifts
  • Zhuhai Attack Shocks the Nation: 35 Dead, 43 Injured in Suspected Vehicle Rampage
  • Waltz Advocates for South Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership to Challenge China’s Maritime Power

Must-Reads

  • 1
    NASA's Latest Feat: CODEX Coronagraph Installed on ISS to Study Sun's Corona

    LATEST 

  • 2
    Bitcoin Surpasses $90,000, Jump Fuels Optimism for $100K Next

    BUSINESS 

  • 3
    Trump vs. Musk: Who Will Be the Top Narcissist in Politics?

    WORLD 

  • 4
    Trump’s Change of Heart on TikTok: Will He Undo Biden’s Ban?

    DEBATE 

  • 5
    Could Elon Musk Shape Trump’s AI Future? Petition Calls for His Role

    LATEST 

Popular Now

  • 1
    Forgotten Doorstop Turns Into $3.2 Million Masterpiece at Auction

    DEBATE 

  • 2
    North Korea Jams GPS Signals, While Hackers Target South Korean Governement

    WORLD 

  • 3
    South Korea’s Trade Strategy Amid Trump's Second Term: Diplomacy or Defeat?

    DEBATE 

  • 4
    Haitian Airlines Passenger Jet Struck by Gunfire Amid Growing Gang Violence

    WORLD 

  • 5
    China’s Secret Weapon Against Trump’s Tariffs: Clean Energy & Global Markets

    LATEST 

Share it on...