Japan’s defense budget exceeds 6 trillion yen for the first time

Japan’s government formally approved a supplementary budget of up to 773.8 billion yen (about $6.7 billion) at a cabinet meeting on Friday, bringing the total annual defense costs to 6.11 trillion yen ($53.2 billion).

The budget requested by the Ministry of Defense is still pending parliamentary approval in December. It marks the first time that the country’s defense budget surpassed 6 trillion yen.

In December 2020, the Ministry of Defense of Japan had approved a defense budget of 5.34 trillion yen ($46.5 billion).