Abe Urges 11% Increase in Defense Budget Citing Ukraine Invasion as Trigger

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe argued that Japan should significantly increase its defense budget in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to Kyodo News on the 3rd, former Prime Minister Abe stated that the defense budget for the 2023 fiscal year should be increased to about 6 trillion yen (approximately 59.7 trillion won) based on the main budget.

At a lecture held in Yamaguchi City, Japan, he said, "The defense budget for 2022 was about 6 trillion yen when combined with last year's supplementary budget. It is important to secure this amount in the main budget for 2023."

The 2022 defense budget was about 5.4005 trillion yen (approximately 53.8 trillion won) based on the main budget. He advocated for an increase of about 11.1%.

Former Prime Minister Abe emphasized "the important thing is self-help efforts," citing Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's military buildup as reasons. He also mentioned Germany's increase of its defense spending to over 2% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as an example, stressing that "Japan also needs to accelerate."