Japan Seeks Record $55.6 Billion Defense Budget, Focuses on AI, Drones

Japan’s Defense Ministry requested a record budget of 8.9 trillion yen ($55.6 billion) on Monday for the fiscal year starting April 2027.

The final budget could reportedly reach 10 trillion yen as Tokyo undertakes a sweeping defense upgrade. The request focuses on countering new ways of warfare, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), drones, and standoff missiles. The ministry hopes to implement an AI-powered decision support system. It also wants to procure low-cost drones that can work in tandem with long-range missiles to neutralize enemy assets.

Japan plans to develop underwater-launched hypersonic missiles and establish a new unit to bolster defenses against cognitive warfare. The current request did not specify the estimated costs of many products and services, including missiles, drones, and digital systems. These figures will be finalized once the government finishes its revision of core national security documents by the end of the year.

This budget request highlights Japan's latest step to boost its military to meet a volatile geopolitical reality. Japan is gradually shedding its traditional pacifist stance that limited the use of force purely for self-defense. China's rapid military expansion and North Korea's steady development of missiles and nuclear weapons have pressed Japan to shore up its defense.

Russia's war in Ukraine has fueled worries among Japanese policymakers that a similar conflict could erupt in East Asia. This concern considers China's mounting pressure on Taiwan and its escalating territorial disputes with Japan.