Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida conveyed to US President Joe Biden at a meeting in Washington Tokyo’s intention to acquire American Tomahawk cruise missiles.
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It is assumed that Tomahawk missiles should become part of a program to increase the ability of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to strike back at enemy bases.
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Kishida stressed that “Japan and the United States are in an unprecedented tough and difficult security situation.”
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In mid-December, Japan adopted three key documents on defense and security: the “National Security Strategy”, which defines the main directions of foreign policy in the field of defense; “National Defense Strategy”, which refers to the goals and means of defense; “Defensive Plan” – it determines the overall cost of defense and the scope of armaments.
The provision that Japan will accept to equip the Tomahawk by fiscal year 2026 was written into these documents. The summit was the first since the adoption of documents that are aimed at increasing Japan’s defense capability and increasing military spending. Biden called the decision to increase such spending “historic.”
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Three documents outlined an increase in Japan’s defense spending to the level of 2% of GDP by 2027. This is approximately 11 trillion yen ($81 billion). Military spending in the current fiscal year 2022 (ending March 31, 2023) amounted to 5.4 trillion yen ($40 billion), approximately 1.24% of GDP.
