Japan’s 2025 defense budget hits a postwar spending record, with base defense outlays at about 8.7 trillion yen ($57 billion) and total defense-related spending around 9.9 trillion yen (roughly 1.8% of GDP).

The funding strengthens interoperability with U.S. forces and expands industrial cooperation in autonomous systems, missile defense, and secure communications, signaling a broader shift toward deterrence and high-end capabilities.

Overall, the move signals Tokyo’s transition from restraint to a more proactive, tech-driven defense posture, with decisions in the next fiscal cycle likely to shape its role as a front-line security actor in the Indo-Pacific.

The rise accelerates Japan’s path to reaching a 2% of GDP defense spending target earlier than previously planned, a move urged by leadership as essential for readiness amid regional uncertainty.

The budget funds personnel costs, base and facility upgrades, and procurement of advanced weapons, including next‑generation fighters, new surface ships, long-range strike capabilities, and modernization of command, control, cyber, and space defenses.

Japan’s 2025 outlay places it among the world’s top military spenders and aims to bolster deterrence against challenges from China, North Korea, and intensified U.S.–China competition in the Indo-Pacific.

The budget supports the Defense Buildup Program launched in 2022 and reflects a shift away from the postwar defense ceiling of about 1% of GDP, a limit loosened in the 1980s but largely observed until the late 2010s.