In fiscal year 2025, Japan’s initial budget request for defense spending has surpassed ¥8 trillion for the first time, with total requests expected to reach a record high of over ¥117 trillion. Government agencies and ministries had until Friday to submit their general-account budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year. The total amount is projected to be approximately ¥3 trillion higher than the figure for fiscal year 2024, which was ¥114.3852 trillion, marking a second consecutive year of record highs. This will be the fourth consecutive year in which the total amount has exceeded ¥110 trillion.
The Defense Ministry has requested ¥8.5389 trillion for fiscal year 2025, representing a 10.5% increase from the initial budget of the previous fiscal year. The requested budget includes allocations of ¥970 billion for developing counterattack capabilities against enemy missile bases and ¥103.2 billion for unmanned vehicle development and acquisition. These budgetary requests align with the Defense Buildup Program’s goal of spending approximately ¥43 trillion on defense over five years starting from fiscal year 2023, in response to Japan’s increasingly challenging defense environment.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has requested ¥34.2763 trillion, reflecting a 1.4% increase from the previous fiscal year due to rising social security expenditures such as pensions and medical care resulting from population aging.
Government debt expenses have reached ¥28.9116 trillion, an increase of nearly ¥2 trillion compared to the initial budget figure in fiscal year 2024 (¥27.009 trillion), itself a record high at that time. Interest payments have risen by 12.% to reach ¥10.932 trillion as market interest rates increased after normalization of monetary policy by Bank of Japan.
Many requests in this initial budget do not specify concrete amounts but rather include broad requests related to important measures like wage hikes and rising prices without specific monetary figures attached.
Moving forward, attention will shift towards budget screenings conducted later this year while considering potential new economic measures formulated by the new cabinet following late September’s Liberal Democratic Party presidential election.