Tokyo announces record $58 billion defence budget amid China tensions

Japan has announced its largest-ever defence budget proposal, with allocations exceeding nine trillion yen ($58 billion) for 2026, as tensions with China continue to rise.

Speaking in Tokyo on Friday, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the spending plan represented “the bare minimum necessary to fully defend Japan”, citing what he described as “the most severe and complex security environment since the end of the war”.

“We have allocated approximately 600 billion yen as expenses for improving the treatment of personnel,” Koizumi said, adding that the aim was to create an environment where service members could perform their duties “with high morale and fully demonstrate their abilities”.

As part of these measures, the government plans to renovate 34 barracks across 29 districts, including rebuilding ageing facilities at the Ground Self-Defence Force’s Sendai Garrison and the Maritime Self-Defence Force’s Naha Air Base, both more than 60 years old.

The second priority focuses on coastal defence. Around 100 billion yen has been earmarked for the rapid development of a multi-layered coastal defence system known as SHIELD, which will use unmanned assets. The system is intended to counter emerging forms of warfare, deter incursions on remote islands and protect deployed forces. Missile capabilities form the third pillar of the plan.

"In order to accelerate the buildup of stand-off missiles, we will allocate approximately 1 trillion yen in project costs and advance mass production of superior domestically produced missiles," Koizumi added.

The announcement comes amid heightened diplomatic strains between Japan and China, with analysts describing relations as being at their lowest point in over a decade. Tensions have intensified following the election of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has adopted a more hawkish tone towards Beijing and has suggested Japan could respond militarily if China were to attack Taiwan.

China’s Ministry of Defence criticised Tokyo’s plans, with spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang condemning Japan’s expanding military posture.

“In recent years, Japan has relentlessly pursued remilitarisation and accelerated its military buildup, with an increasingly visible and dangerous tendency towards a militarist revival,” Zhang said.

“To cover up its underlying ambitions, Japan has repeatedly used China as a pretext […] right-wing forces in Japan have thrown away their hypocritical mask and are openly advocating for nuclear armament,” he added.

Zhang’s remarks followed comments by a senior security adviser to Prime Minister Takaichi, who argued that Japan should consider acquiring nuclear weapons, describing them as a 'necessary deterrent' against perceived threats from China, Russia and North Korea.

Mandatory Credit: Japan Ministry of Defense

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