The Japanese Cabinet on Friday approved a record 8.7 trillion yen ($55 billion) defense budget for 2025 as Japan accelerates building up its strike-back capability with long-range cruise missiles and starts deploying Tomahawks to fortify itself against growing threats from China, North Korea and Russia.
The Cabinet-endorsed draft defense budget marks the third year of Japan’s ongoing five-year military buildup under the national security strategy adopted in 2022. The defense spending is part of the more than 115 trillion yen ($730 billion) national budget bill — also a record — that requires parliamentary approval by March to be enacted.
