Japan Approves Record 2026 Defense Budget of 9.040 Trillion Yen Amid Rising China Tensions

The Japanese government approved a record defense budget of 9.040 miliardi di yen (circa 58 miliardi di dollari) for the fiscal year 2026, as tensions with China rise.

“People hold placards reading "No war" and "Stop constitutional revision, military expansion" during the Grand Constitution Rally 2026 to mark Constitution Memorial Day in Tokyo on May 3, 2026”

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The budget, approved by the Council of Ministers and tied to an fiscal year that begins in April, includes costs related to hosting U.S. military bases on national territory.

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The figure exceeds the previous record high of 8.700 miliardi di yen (55,7 miliardi di dollari) set for the current fiscal year ending in March 2026, according to Kyodo.

The 2026 plan is described as the fourth year of a five-year defense reinforcement program of 43.000 miliardi di yen (circa 275 miliardi di dollari), with 100,1 miliardi di yen (641 milioni di dollari) allocated to the layered coastal defense system “Shield.”

The same budget sets 30,1 miliardi di yen (193 milioni di dollari) for the purchase of guided hypersonic missiles and 1,1 miliardi di yen (circa 7 milioni di dollari) for evaluating long-autonomy remotely piloted aircraft to counter airspace violations.

Japan’s parliament passed defense laws on Friday to rename the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) as the “Air and Space Self-Defense Force,” described as the first name change of an SDF branch since 1954.

Jiji Press said the Diet enacted a bill to reorganize the ASDF as the Air and Space Self-Defense Force, with the ASDF renamed by the end of fiscal 2026, which ends next March.

Global Times

The bill also increases the number of state ministers of defense from one to two to better prepare for emergency responses to disasters, and it was approved at a plenary meeting of the House of Councillors after passage in April in the House of Representatives.

Global Times quoted Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, during an inspection of a space surveillance unit, saying Japan would "work to improve its capabilities."

Global Times also reported that the “Air and Space Self-Defense Force” will be launched during fiscal 2026 and that a new specialized unit for the space domain, the “Space Operations Group,” will be established under the command of an Air Self-Defense Force general.

Chinese experts cited by Global Times said Japan’s move to treat outer space as a new battlefield runs counter to the spirit of its so-called pacifist constitution and represents a further attempt to hollow out postwar constitutional constraints on military development.

“Japan Enacts Bill to Rename ASDF to Air and Space SDF Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)--The Diet, Japan's parliament, enacted a bill Friday to reorganize the Air Self-Defense Force as the Air and Space Self-Defense Force”

JIJI PRESS

Global Times quoted Song Zhongping, a military affairs expert, saying "This marks a key step in the Sanae Takaichi administration's push for military expansion, laying bare Japan's growing military ambitions," and it added that the move departs from Japan’s exclusively defense-oriented policy.

The same Global Times account said Wei Dongxu, a Chinese military affairs commentator quoted by CCTV, warned that Japan may use space-based military capabilities for orbital reconnaissance and long-range strikes, and it said the Aerospace Self-Defense Force could prepare for direct orbital combat.

Sardegnagol reported that after statements by premier Takaichi on 7 novembre, China reacted by advising against travel to Japan and reintroducing the import ban on Japanese fish products along with other restrictive measures.

Sardegnagol also said Takaichi’s remarks framed an eventual Chinese attack on Taiwan as legally a “situazione che minaccia la sopravvivenza” del Giappone, opening the way for collective self-defense.