NHK, TV Asahi, TBS, and Fuji TV led with follow-up reports on the explosion and fire in Sapporo on Sunday, reporting that the real estate agency that caused the explosion has issued an apology on its website. NTV gave top coverage to the government’s decision to propose a record-high budget of 101.4 trillion yen for FY2019.

All TV networks also reported prominently on the cabinet’s approval of the new National Defense Program Guidelines and the Mid-Term Defense Program this morning, which call for the procurement of F-35B fighters, the renovation of the Izumo destroyer to introduce aircraft carrier functions, and capabilities to respond to threats in space and cyberspace as well as electromagnetic waves and other new domains, with total defense spending in the next five years set at a record-high 27.47 trillion yen.