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© KYODOIncreased defense spending pledge taxes Japan's strained coffers
By Takaki Tominaga TOKYO©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
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GBR48
'an expansion in its defence budget the government believes is necessary to satisfy Trump.' FTFY.
Defence spending is a subscription. Most of the kit you buy, you will never use. But as technology develops, you have to buy the next generation to keep up, and it is hugely expensive stuff.
Buying from local producers at least keeps the money in the country, passing from taxpayers to local arms dealers, with a percentage taken back in taxing their profits. But Trump will expect Japan to arm up with American gear, or else, tariffs. Eventually Japan will have to do what other countries are doing and max out 'non-tax' taxes such as congestion charges.
P_C
A Finance Ministry official sounded a warning about relying on debt to finance defense spending, saying, "Building a healthy system for national security is our generation's responsibility" and that the "Heavy use of debt simply shifts the burden to future taxpayers."
So true.
Also, another way to look at this. TOTAL % of global defense spending = US 37%, China 12%, Russia 5% then India, Saudi Arabia, UK, Germany and France all around 3%. Japan 2% but will rise to near 3+%
WoodyLee
The government recently scheduled corporate and tobacco tax hikes for April 2026. However, it delayed raising the income tax in the face of growing public calls for financial relief amid the cost-of-living crisis
Governments are well known for Overestimating, Over spending, and Over Taxing and Japan is no different.
Cut back on Useless project such as Useless expressways, Roads, Living on the moon, Failed Space Rockets, and more and allocated these funds towards defense for now.
Raising corporate taxes will only result is lower wage hikes, layoffs, reduction in RD project, improvements and expansion.
Meiyouwenti
Spending for the increased defense budget for the fiscal 2024 began in April last year. And where’s the money coming from? By issuing government bonds of course. No need for raising taxes to pay for the defense budget.
Michael Machida
From what I have been told over the last 25 years in Japan is that Japan has an underground wealth of hidden tax revenue. I have been told this by some of the most official nationals I have worked with.
So, this story is balls on.
OssanAmerica
The J-Gov should raise taxes on cigarettes 300%. Dont know any country where it's still so cheap. Raising income taxes on Pachinko parlors is another good idea. There are ways to raise money for defense and do good for society at the same time.
deanzaZZR
Cigs for bullets. Great idea. Although smoking is way down from the levels I saw back in the 1980s. Has the J gov detailed what this increased spending will actual do as far as force posture, weapons platforms, etc? Any way USA weapons manufactures collectively say ありがとう.
socrateos
Japan’s tax revenue has been increasing in recent years, reaching record highs without raising tax rate. In fiscal year 2022, tax income rose to ¥72.1 trillion ($446 billion) from ¥71.1 trillion in the previous year. Projections for the fiscal year ending March 2025 estimate tax revenues to rise to approximately ¥73.4 trillion, marking the fifth consecutive year of record-high tax revenue. This increase is attributed to strong corporate profits.
Fos
Just as a reminder that he U.S. controls about 800 military bases in more than 90 countries worldwide, as opposed to 3 or 4 of China globally. And yet the US military-industrial complex narrative wants us to believe it’s China and Russia that seek world domination and are the biggest threat to world peace, not the United States.
The only military risk that we face from China is if we continue as a proxy for the US in its endless wars
Alongfortheride
And this is all they are worried about?! I think Jpn govt you should be more concerned on how you are damaging businesses with your taxes.
This military spending is a total waste of money to give someone and ego boost.
Alongfortheride
Cigarettes price up yes, Gambling taxes up yes. But also LOWER the income tax but raise consumption tax, that way tourists can help with tax revenue.
Abe234
GBR48Today 06:54 am JST
Absolutely! The constant updating of equipment is an ongoing struggle, especially as costs increase. I don't see it as a subscription but more as an insurance policy that hopefully we will never have to use.
I agree Trump will assume that countries will just buy U.S hardware, but we need to understand that the U.S is political, and while they'll lavish weapons on Israel, they appear rather slow on delivery to Ukraine. But also the U.S might have one fiscal/political eye on your enemy but see them as less of a threat to themselves. If China took a Japanese Island, the U.S. might have one on their own economy and trade ties with China and lean on Japan to "Well, it's just a small Island" especially with a pacifist in office. If needed, Japan should invest in its own defence industries, invest in jobs, shipbuilding, tech, and sales, feed Japanese shareholders, and eat into the U.S companies, all the while saying we're spending more on defence. The U.S. believes it holds a monopoly on defence, but there are some great other systems out there. Either from Sweden, France, the UK, Germany etc. I wouldn't rely on one producer but one thing is for sure: the Cold War peace dividend is over. Sadly, it will mean A) higher taxes, B) less social services, C) paying more for social services but receive less.
Oh totally, but sometimes the bully on the block doesn't quite agree with that. Unless you're suggesting appeasement? We were friendly to China, but what did they do to Hong Kong, India? We were friendly to Putin, but he had different ideas. Iraq was our friend until Saddam decided he wanted Kuwait. Or how about Egypt, taking on Israel? How about Yugoslavia? We were friendly to Germany in the 30s, but.......The list goes on! We do fully engage with them all, Even with the U.N but when the neighbour wants to take your garden....has nuclear weapons, and an army/navy/airforce three times larger, are you just gonna give it to them? Thats why we all agreed on borders post WW2.
TaiwanIsNotChina
It is right that somebody is reaching across the planet to throw russia and China back.
No, China is plenty belligerent despite the other forces in East Asia not having gone up in 70 years.
u_s__reamer
Military spending is the cancer of the state that always metastasizes into violent conflict and oppression of civilian populations while wasting the treasure of the people. The Japanese military now at last have their point man, Ishiba, in place to squeeze more taxes from people's pockets to feed the insatiable maw of the machinery of war and future undemocratic government.
grc
Alongfortheride - agree entirely on capturing more tax from tourists
JeffLee
Just issue more bonds and get the BOJ to buy them, as per usual. Or rescind the corporate tax cut of a few years ago.
@Along
I have no idea of what you're talking about. Japanese "businesses" have been seeing the highest profits in their history. The stock market is one of the world's hottest. And the govt cut corporate taxes while hiking taxes on consumers.
isabelle
Japan has done so for years. In return, it got an ever-more aggressive China, North Korea, and Russia.
Japan will continue to try, but diplomacy doesn't work too well with aggressive, revisionist dictators. Hence, the need for increased defense spending.
Authoritarians generally only employ "diplomacy" in order to state their demands for appeasement, or to give themselves breathing space when the free world responds to their aggression by arming itself and forming alliances (as has been happening over the past few years).
Total nonsense, as usual. Japan isn't conducting any proxy wars for the US, despite the trash that the anti-Japan-US/pro-China-Russia mob constantly spouts.
And if the US were to withdraw from the international stage tomorrow (or on January 20), the risk from China would increase, not decrease. China would swoop in on the Senkakus, Taiwan, etc. straight away.
Speed
This is a clear indication that this is NOT what the people want.
Fos
isabelle
Here comes the US State department manipulative narratives
Just as a reminder of the astounding profits of the US military industrial complex, whose main interest is to inflate the rhetoric against China in Asia to preserve their huge interests in the weapons industry.
The 41 companies in the Top 100 based in the United States recorded arms revenues of $317 billion, half the total arms revenues of the Top 100 and 2.5 per cent more than in 2022. Since 2018, the top five companies in the Top 100 have all been based in the USA.
Chinese companies had the second-largest aggregate arms revenues after U.S. companies at $103 billion, but they recorded their lowest growth of 0.7 percent since 2019 due to the country's slowing economy, it said.
https://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2024/worlds-top-arms-producers-see-revenues-rise-back-wars-and-regional-tensions#:~:text=South%20Korean%20and%20Japanese%20companies
The social issues affecting Japan (i.e. low births, financial help for young families) are not a priority of Wall Street
isabelle
...which are as irrelevant here as they are the other ten times per day you post them.
Japan has its own sophisticated intelligence and analysis operations that make very clear the China threat, and China itself telegraphs the threat daily with its actions, rhetoric, and policy.
Wall Street financials are not driving this rise in defense spending. Chinese aggression is.
isabelle
And that's precisely why those aggressive countries (and their online minions) complain about the bases so much: because they prevent them from subjugating the region.
Fos
Isabelle
As we all know the US is the most aggressive country in the world, I have just mentioned the difference between the military spending of Washington and Beijing, what else can you add to support your anti-Beijing rhetoric? We need to tell Kirby and Sullivan assistant to do a better job I guess.
Just a recap of the last 40 years which does not include Ukraine and Middle East, and wargames by United States of America:
Key conflicts include:
Gulf War (1990-1991) - A coalition operation to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation.
War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) - Initiated in response to the September 11 attacks.
Iraq War (2003-2011) - Aimed at toppling Saddam Hussein's regime, with a prolonged occupation afterward.
Interventions in Libya (2011) - Involved airstrikes during the civil unrest.
Ongoing operations against ISIS (2014-present) - Involves military action in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria.
Since 1945 the US past administrations have tried to overthrow more than 50 governments, many of them democratically elected; grossly interfered in elections in 30 countries; bombed the civilian populations of 30 countries; used chemical and biological weapons; and attempted to assassinate foreign leaders.
Defining China a “threat” is historically incorrect, unless you follow the narrative of the usual suspects that define the alleged skirmished with Filipinos fishermen a danger to a sovereign nation.
Fos
Burgerland
It is one of those psychology tricks where they need to keep repeating stuff which even themselves understand to be unrealistic, but generates a lot of liquidity (and commissions), see the historical records in Wall Street and the fact the top weapons manufactures in the world are all American. The death and devastation through the warmongering all over the world, created by these dynamics in Washington, are not relevant. For those people abnegation and greed are the main attributes.
Alongfortheride
Ok, so please explain to me why the past 2 years I have paid just under 70% in total taxes to the govt from my business. You think that is acceptable?
itsonlyrocknroll
Why can't the people of China democratically decide for themselves.
It is a simple question to ask, a pertinent question.
Why spend vast amounts of taxpayer's money that could defending the indefensible?
Fos, it must of occurred to you.
What is President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping petrified of, so inherently paranoid of?
One person, one vote?
kaimycahl
increase the spending or answer to Beijing
Fos
itsonlyrocknroll
China is not evil. It is not a liberal democracy, but it does not attack Western values
China or whichever Asian or Western country, has to go through a phase of self determination. And we don’t need a war or conflict for the only scope of pleasing the interests of the US military industrial complex to achieve that juncture. It is not China’s weapon killing hundreds of thousands people in Ukraine. It is not Chinese arms shipping generating the mass killing in the Middle East (Israel, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria), and certainly China is not arming Taiwan to the tunes of billions and billions of dollars of American made weapons. For what purpose? Is the so called “deterrence” working other that creating billionaires in America and impoverishing Japanese families, as well as many other countries, Europe to say the least?
itsonlyrocknroll
Oh Fos my friend, do the people of China really have a choice?
Let the people of China decide for themsleves first and foremost.
If you are so ideologically convinced that the government of China despotism was a vote winner.
Then put it to the vote!!!
Instead of presenting a masterclass in "whataboutery",
Your list of histrionic grievances to justify genocide from the government of China of/to its people is a tad shameful.
Fos
itsonlyrocknroll
Sure, China has a more pervasive conception of law and order than ours, there are no public forms of dissent as there are here, but the Chinese do not deny it and think it is a fair price to pay for lifting 500 million people out of poverty.
Let’s look back at some history books:
The killing of Native Americans was the biggest genocide in world, and yet Hollywood and the popular American culture made us believe the cowboys were always and foremost the heroes
What is going on in Israel is genocide. Palestinians are being intentionally massacred by Israel IDF, starved, and stripped of everything needed to sustain human life. And China has nothing to do with it. On the contrary it the US administration which is shipping weapons to Tele Aviv: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpvne94v1rdoitsonlyrocknroll
Fos....
Let the people of China vote for peace.
A government that genuinely yearns for co existence with neighbour's.
All parties sincerely disarm.
The government of China offers full support to the people of Taiwan right to choose leadership independence.
If they choose to do so.
Does not preclude the new democratic peoples of China embracing a future Taiwan/Chinese permanent partnership.
Dismantle the fortified sand castles.
Then Japan can review taxpayer money being spent on next generation weaponry, I suggest also review the necessity for US forward bases remaining, the eye watering costs.
Sorry, of course, I must be dreaming.
Fos
itsonlyrocknroll
I am certainly agreeing with you about the necessity to review the costs of US bases in Japan. No country or political system is perfect, China or Japan, same as Western civilization or values are not better than others.
My point is that China has neither the intent nor the capability to attack Japan, and does not project its military power around the globe as does the US. However the US narrative is totally manipulating the public opinion.
If you consider how much Taiwan has spent in 2023 for military equipment (all Made in America) is way more than Iran, (another foes of Washington) which has almost 4 times the population, that shows you the interests of the White House to flare up the tensions.
Taiwan $16,6 billions vs Iran $10,3 billions
https://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2024/worlds-top-arms-producers-see-revenues-rise-back-wars-and-regional-tensions#:~:text=South%20Korean%20and%20Japanese%20companies
Aoi Azuuri
In the first place, despite fragile country where food self-sufficiency is very low, even many daily necessities or industrial parts depend on import from "enemy country", travel industries depend on tourists from "enemy country", have many superannuated nuclear plants at sea coast facing "enemy countries", and poverty expanding at society, Politics still spread or cling to detterrence-myth as if increasing even weapons brings safe.
And what LDP or greedy economy groups including arms industries want is just exploit immense profit from taxpayers money on the pretext fear to war.
fxgai
Amen, just cut spending in other areas if you want to increase spending. This is sane behaviour, whereas printing money to finance the military is what Japan did in WWII and they had to ditch the yen for a new one after that didn’t work out so great.
TaiwanIsNotChina
There clearly needs to be missile parity between japan and China.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Taiwan clearly needs to spend more to preserve its independence.
TaiwanIsNotChina
You are right: it is China's dog russia.
China is funding Iran and thereby supplying Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
You are right: China is the threat looming over Taiwan for which there needs to be deterrence.
DanteKH
In the end, it will be still the local salary man who is going to pay for all this, by extra taxes, price hikes, inflation, even weaker Yen, etc.
No money is free money.
itsonlyrocknroll
Fos
So drawing from the implied article, the suggestion that an arms race could erupt, the costs detrimental not only to the Japanese tax payer but also drawing the region on a course for direct confrontation conflict
Will you please answer, the simple question, why do you deny the people of China a democratic vote to decide their future？
For them to choose a path to peaceful coexistence？
ArtistAtLarge
Exactly.
Fos
ArtistAtLarge
Exactly.
Let's all be artists at large :) Let's increase the budget for the big American weapons corporations in Wall Street, forget the more important social issues troubling Japan, like low birth rates and young families struggling for supports. If the US administration says that China is a threat that must be true, even though US spends more on defence than the next ten countries combined, and has surrounded China with dozens of hostile military bases. A reminder that US stock markets rose to all time high since the top 5 weapons manufacturers in un the world are all Americans.
As always, we advice to give priority to history books rather than US military dispatches
BertieWooster
All that money for what?
For defence?
Defence against whom?
Who would want to attack a country that was bankrupt?
OssanAmerica
Just a reminder that US overseas bases are at the invitation and agreement of the host countries.
The idea of any country on this planet "inviting" the Chinese PLA onto their soil is laughable.
Fos
itsonlyrocknroll
I am not sure which part of my response you interpret, perhaps I did not make myself clear.
A peaceful coexistence for China? Let’s go back to history books.
China does not have a history of military aggression beyond the defense of its own borders. Not to the style of US style full scale wars around the entire globe: Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Serbia, Libya, Syria, Middle East just to name a few.
China’s current defense spending has risen steadily in recent years, it is true, but is one third of the budget allocation for defence which the latest Biden Administration submitted to US Congress.
Of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, who represent the great powers, only one has not fought a war in 40 years: China. In contrast to China, in the last three decades, the US military industrial complex has fought a war or been involved in military actions every year.
China has a large and diverse population in areas such as Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and it has land borders with fourteen other countries, but the country does not have a history of military aggression beyond the defense of its own borders. The "alleged accusations" of the usual suspects, the rusty ships with the Filipinos fishermen, just to flare up tensions in the continent, are just not credible, considering the US State department track record of promoting manipulative narratives
itsonlyrocknroll
Fos you skilfully avoided my question ....
Why do you deny the people of China a democratic vote to decide their future？
Fos I have tolled at college, supplementing my student fees, first as a research assistant, moving on
to drafting speech writers, for UK Labour party government politicians.
They paid well. I needed to the money for my student fees.
Look, it is a simple straight forward question.
I contend by your well versed, adept, are trained/tutored in the various techniques of avoiding a question that makes you uncomfortable, forces you into a awkward position.
Four paragraphs of redirection, deliberate deflection, diverting the debate to an unrelated subject strength.
Why will you not openly support the people of China having a democratic right to determine their future???
If, as you insist the government of China respects its peoples human rights?
Japan its people want to live in peace, trade in a rules based recognised legal framework.
Disarm, spend taxpayer money on social care, solve the harsh devastating realities from a pandemic.
OssanAmerica
Japan's defense spending plan details are not for China supporters.
40-50% of weapons and systems Japan buys from the US are either made in Japan under license or have Japanes companies involved in their development.
Only countries that can't afford US or other Western weapons buy Chinese. The low price is the attraction.
kurisupisu
@Isabelle
“Total nonsense, as usual. Japan isn't conducting any proxy wars for the US, despite the trash that the anti-Japan-US/pro-China-Russia mob constantly spouts.”
The comment has been misinterpreted by you.
Fostoday didn’t say that Japan was conducting proxy wars for the US.
The comment was “if we continue as a proxy for the US…”
Japan has several US bases (paid out of our tax) so I would concur 100% with the comment that Japan is a U.S. proxy.
Fos
itsonlyrocknroll
Sorry. I thought I’ve answered your question earlier on, when I’ve mentioned that China, despite the fact is NOT a traditional liberal democracy, it certainly does not attack Western values, or wage aggressive wars like the usual suspect suggest.
I also mentioned that past history events taught us that countries have to go through a phase of self determination, democracy cannot be exported through wars (look what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan, again disasters created by the United States of America).
And, yes, China has a more pervasive conception of law and order than ours, there are no public forms of dissent as there are in the Western world (and to what effect one might say? Look at the deep and bitter divisions within these societies), but the Chinese do not deny it, and think it is a fair price to pay for lifting over 500 million people out of poverty in just a few decades, an achievement which is unprecedented in all the world's history.
China in the 1960’s had lower GDP per capita than most African countries. Now it is the second biggest economy in the world and an upper middle income country. For this reason the Chinese Communist Party doesn't believe in the Western style liberal democracy. And why would anybody want to fix something that's not broken?
Having said that, you might agree or disagree (perfectly entitle to), but statistics say something relevant: the level of trust in government is way stronger in China or India of countries like United States or France.
So, why would the Chinese population have the highest percentage of people who trust the government if they are all living in daily terror and oppression by that same government? Of course you can dismiss it for whatever reason, by try any search on the share of people who report having confidence in the national government of Washington and you will be surprised.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1362804/trust-government-world/
TaiwanIsNotChina
Full of Something on a tear.
deanzaZZR
China had a trade surplus of over $800 billion in 2023. China doesn't need to export violence and death as the USA does.
Wasabi
Is it a threat? Are you working for trump or a weapons manufacturer?
If the USA wants to keeps their base here, they should pay the rent and more.
voiceofokinawa
Japan is an integral part of the U.S. and so it's quite all right for a Japanese firm to buy a U.S. firm, USS, so may the Japanese side think.
Whereas the U.S. side thinks that even though Japan is a U.S. vassal, it's still a different country, so that the purchase of USS by a Japanese firm cannot be morally allowed.
The USS transaction issue is a yard stick to capture the true picture of the Japan-U.S. relations.
voiceofokinawa
The U.S. has been eager for Japan to break its decade-old policy of one percent ceiling of GNP for the defense budget. But we know that the bulk of the defense budget goes to the purchase of U.S.-made weapons.
Besides, Japan must provide bases and facilities for USFJ to use for free. The poor Japanese government is forging ahead with the construction of the Osprey base in Henoko, Okinawa, mistakenly thinking it would serve them good.
What a world!
OssanAmerica
And yet China is compelled to create conflicts with it's neighbors to steal their territories. And to wage war in every which way other than actual conflict with the West to further it's aims of regional and global domination. The only thing worse than the CCP are the people who worship it.
Fos
OssanAmerica
And your sources once again are the US State department in accordance with Lockheed Martin,
Raytheon Technologies, Northrop Grumman, right? .
Who could blame them after all, what a huge run they had in Wall Street selling weapons for billions and billions of dollars, inciting conflicts all over the world.
Let's open some history books rather than citing US military dispatches:
In the course of the 20th century alone, Washington has participated in 39 armed conflicts, or one every three years, and since 2000 it has engaged in at least 12 wars, the equivalent of one every two years.
Of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, who represent the great powers, only one has not fought a war in 40 years: China. In contrast to China, in the last three decades, America has fought a war or been involved in military actions every year.
Beijing does not have a history of military aggression beyond the defense of its own borders. The only difference is that China belongs to Asia, whereas the United Stated of America is just selling weapons of mass destruction as explained above.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Let's open some Chinese/russian history books and see how they didn't get to their bloated size with peace.
OssanAmerica
Nope. Mainstream news (that isn't censored) of just about every country. Unlike your sole sources being the Global Times and Xinhua, both controlled by the CCP.
And only one has fought against the United Nations killing troops from 21 nations; China.
deanzaZZR
Hilarious. Still carrying on about the Korean War fought over 70 years ago with USA wars against Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Iraq, Afghanistan, Panama, Libya, Syria, Granada and a few more I am sure I missed in the interim. . 1. Beijing/China was not a member of the United Nations. 2. China fought a defensive war against United States aggression which included threats of nuclear attacks at a time when China did not possess nukes. 3. The UN authorized a "police action" not a war of aggression. Kind of like when the UN authorized the USA to invade Iraq to get rid of weapons of mass destruction that did not exist.
Roll up to the Yalu River one more time and the response will be the same only with a much more level playing field in terms of technology.
Fos
OssanAmerica
Sorry, like I’ve said before I am not into SCI_FI movies or an expert of video-games.
I tried to look at the reality of the present: as we speak United States of America is providing weapons to Ukraine and Israel, for the current (not imaginary) wars. And is inciting unrest in Asia by selling billions and billions of dollars to Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore. I don’t think you need links to document that, do you?
They would be from western accredited media. Just let me know.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Only problematic destination in there is Israel.
Blacksamurai
Time for people to get real - you can't complain about US bases in Okinawa and elsewhere and call for their removal and expect Japan will be given a magic pass out of the regional and global conflicts and a potential East Asian armed conflict due to China.
Real life doesn't work with Japan having the current military arrangement in its constitution. The Japanese military will have to receive an upgrade to its scale, weaponry and mission if Japan is to counter all the incursions of China including its recent hostile behavior around the Philippines and Vietnam. Regardless of whether President Trump implements the policy that the US is not the world's policeman but will back allies while expecting them to do more of their own military obligations.
Our taxes will have to go up, all the talk about taxing businesses but not the ordinary population is unrealistic and Ishiba's Govt knows that. Just like rises in city tax and health insurance are inevitable because of the ageing population. You want to live in Japan, you have to accept that your financial obligations will increase in line with realities including Chinese military and economic aggression which will not go away by itself.
kurisupisu
Any force attempting to invade Japan would suffer greatly as the country is extremely defensible and invading forces would suffer a high rate of attrition.
We should remember that back in the 1940s that America thought more than twice about invading mainland Japan.
The same remains true today.
OssanAmerica
The US is providing military aid to nations asking for it because they are concerned about China. China is theatening to invade Taiwan. The US is not threatening to invade any country in Asia. Which one is inciting unrest? Are you capable of an honest answer?