2LT International News

TOKYO, Japan: Japanese defense spending will rise 20 percent to a record $55 billion in 2023, which will include the purchase of US-made Tomahawk missiles and long-range cruise missiles that can strike China or North Korea, as part of Japan’s more offensive National Security Strategy.

The purchase of Tomahawks, costing $1.6 billion, is a centerpiece of Japan’s 2023 budget plan, which was approved lst week by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet, highlighting his government’s determination to acquire more strike capabilities.

Japan will purchase the equipment and software needed to launch Tomahawks, and pay fees for the technology transfer and staff training in the coming year, costing an additional $830 million.

Pending parliamentary approval, the budget plan is the first installment of a five-year, $325-billion military spending plan under the new defense buildup plan, which will eventually push Japan’s annual budget to about $73 billion, the world’s third largest after the US and China, as it upgrades its military to NATO standards.

The budget plan is part of Kishida’s new National Security Strategy, which is a historic change from Japan’s exclusively self-defense policy, imposed on it after the end of World War II.

Japan will also purchase more standoff missiles launched from warplanes, including a 310-mile range Joint Strike Missile from Norway for F-35A fighters, and Lockheed Martin’s Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, with a range of about 560 miles, for use with upgraded F-15 fighter jets.

Over the next five years, the country will spend about $37 billion on long-range missiles, with deployment beginning in four years.

Japan will also develop other types of weapons, such as hypersonic weapons and unmanned and multi-role vehicles.