On Dec. 16, the government explained the FY2022 defense budget at a joint meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party’s National Defense Division and others. The draft budget is positioned as a “package to accelerate defense buildup” together with the draft FY2021 supplementary budget. The defense budget will be used to protect the Nansei Islands and strengthen missile interception systems. Funds on the scale of 5.4 trillion yen, the highest ever, will be apportioned.

At the end of 2022, the government will revise for the first time ever the “National Security Strategy,” which is the basic policy for Japan’s diplomacy and defense. The Medium Term Defense Program, which indicates the total amount of defense-related expenses over a five-year period, will be revised at the same time.

The total of the figure in the draft supplementary budget for FY2021 and that in the draft budget for FY2022—namely, 6 trillion yen—will serve as a guideline for the annual amount in the new Medium Term Defense Program.