[Tintin Storm]

The budget of the Ministry of Defense of Japan for 2018 may be 2.5% higher than the budget for 2017 and amount to ¥ 5.02 trillion ($ 47.2 billion). The Japanese Defense Ministry appealed to the government of the country with a request for such a sum. The increase in military spending was justified by the worsening situation on the Korean peninsula and increased activity in the disputed Diaoyu Islands area (in Japanese - Senkaku).
At the requested amount, the Ministry of Defense of Japan intends to acquire two patrol ships, six F-35A fighters and four tilt-rotor aircraft (V-22). Part of the funds will also be spent on building a new Japanese submarine. In addition, the agency requests ¥ 19.6 billion (about $ 178 million) to develop new radar technologies that will track the enemy's invisible aircraft. The ministry asks to allocate ¥ 62.7 billion ($ 590 million) for the purchase of interceptor missiles with improved characteristics such as SM-3 Block 2A and PAC-3 MSE.
The Japanese Defense Ministry also asks to allocate ¥ 10 billion (about $ 94.2 million) for research to create long-range weapons; ¥ 7.7 billion ($ 72.5 million) for research into the development of new anti-ship missiles; ¥ 10.7 billion ($ 100.7 million) for the modernization of the operational control system for air defense facilities.
In 2018, the Ministry of Defense of Japan also plans to deploy ground-based versions of the US missile defense system Aegis Ashore. Now, missile defense systems in Japan are provided by ships with the US Aegis system armed with SM-3 interceptor missiles. The country also has PAC-3 sets for the destruction of missiles within the atmosphere.
According to Tokyo, Japan has been consistently increasing its defense budget for several years due to the difficult security situation in the region. This causes concern for several countries, including China.
Even though Japan has a peaceful constitution that prohibits having armed forces, the current Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, has embarked on a policy of toughening foreign policy and strengthening the military component in order to project military force outside. Japan has only the Self-Defense Forces, but Abe leads to a revision of this pacifist constitution. He plans to add to the ninth article an item that legitimizes the armed forces.
The strengthening of right-conservative tendencies in the political life of the country in recent years allows the ruling circles of the country not only to toughen the foreign policy course of the state, but also to strengthen the military component in it. The ongoing rapid strengthening of Japanese military capabilities will be accepted without enthusiasm in China, South Korea and other countries, which in turn may lead to an unstable situation in the region.

[ThirdTerm]

The budget of the Ministry of Defense of Japan for 2018 may be 2.5% higher than the budget for 2017 and amount to ¥ 5.02 trillion ($ 47.2 billion). The Japanese Defense Ministry appealed to the government of the country with a request for such a sum. The increase in military spending was justified by the worsening situation on the Korean peninsula and increased activity in the disputed Diaoyu Islands area (in Japanese - Senkaku).

Japan has a long-standing policy of restricting defense spending to 1 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The 2018 defence spending is still below the 1% ceiling despite the slight increase. $47.2 billion is approximately 1% of Japan's GDP of $5 trillion. In comparison, Russia's defense budget amounts to 5% of GDP.

[foxdemon]

@Tintin Storm must be joking. Chinese military expansion is destabilising the region. Japanese military spending hardly rates a mention.

[JohnRawls]

The budget of the Ministry of Defense of Japan for 2018 may be 2.5% higher than the budget for 2017 and amount to ¥ 5.02 trillion ($ 47.2 billion). The Japanese Defense Ministry appealed to the government of the country with a request for such a sum. The increase in military spending was justified by the worsening situation on the Korean peninsula and increased activity in the disputed Diaoyu Islands area (in Japanese - Senkaku).
At the requested amount, the Ministry of Defense of Japan intends to acquire two patrol ships, six F-35A fighters and four tilt-rotor aircraft (V-22). Part of the funds will also be spent on building a new Japanese submarine. In addition, the agency requests ¥ 19.6 billion (about $ 178 million) to develop new radar technologies that will track the enemy's invisible aircraft. The ministry asks to allocate ¥ 62.7 billion ($ 590 million) for the purchase of interceptor missiles with improved characteristics such as SM-3 Block 2A and PAC-3 MSE.
The Japanese Defense Ministry also asks to allocate ¥ 10 billion (about $ 94.2 million) for research to create long-range weapons; ¥ 7.7 billion ($ 72.5 million) for research into the development of new anti-ship missiles; ¥ 10.7 billion ($ 100.7 million) for the modernization of the operational control system for air defense facilities.
In 2018, the Ministry of Defense of Japan also plans to deploy ground-based versions of the US missile defense system Aegis Ashore. Now, missile defense systems in Japan are provided by ships with the US Aegis system armed with SM-3 interceptor missiles. The country also has PAC-3 sets for the destruction of missiles within the atmosphere.
According to Tokyo, Japan has been consistently increasing its defense budget for several years due to the difficult security situation in the region. This causes concern for several countries, including China.
Even though Japan has a peaceful constitution that prohibits having armed forces, the current Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, has embarked on a policy of toughening foreign policy and strengthening the military component in order to project military force outside. Japan has only the Self-Defense Forces, but Abe leads to a revision of this pacifist constitution. He plans to add to the ninth article an item that legitimizes the armed forces.
The strengthening of right-conservative tendencies in the political life of the country in recent years allows the ruling circles of the country not only to toughen the foreign policy course of the state, but also to strengthen the military component in it. The ongoing rapid strengthening of Japanese military capabilities will be accepted without enthusiasm in China, South Korea and other countries, which in turn may lead to an unstable situation in the region.

Hey TinTin, did you guys poison that Russian Spy in the UK? Hook as up with some classified information for once.