Article on Japanese Neo-militarist Forces' Bid to Increase "Defense Expenditure"

Pyongyang, November 6 (KCNA) -- Pak Hak Song, a researcher of the Institute for Japan Studies under the DPRK Foreign Ministry issued the following article "The bid of the neo-militarist forces of Japan to increase 'defense expenditure' will only precipitate its regime and security crisis" on November 5:

The Japanese neo-militarist forces are recklessly scheming to increase defense expenditure, going against the common desire of humankind for the peaceful world free from war and armed conflict.

Extremely dangerous attempt of the Japanese right-wing conservative regime to increase the military expenditure is bringing the dark clouds of a new arms race to Northeast Asia.

 

Increasing "Defense Expenditure", Clear Proof of Ambition for Reinvasion

80 years have passed since the Second World War ended with the unconditional surrender of Japanese imperialism. However, Japan, a defeated nation obliged to repent of and beg apology for unethical crimes it committed against humankind, remains unchanged in its deep-rooted revanchist ambition.

After its defeat, Japan has worked hard to revive militarism with the backing of the U.S. It is characterized by the course of increasing the military expenditure in a systematic way for arms buildup, enactment of laws and "fundamental bolstering of its defense capability".

In 1976, the Miki Cabinet decided to limit the military expenditure to less than 1% of GDP in order to evade the public blame at home and abroad for its moves to build up the military strength. However, in the 1980s, the Nakasone Cabinet came up with a new military budget framework called a mode of specifying the total amount to be spent for years, annulling the 1% limit in fact.

In particular, in 2022, the Kishida Cabinet officially announced that it would revise the three security-related documents to spend 43 trillion yen from 2023 to 2027 and increase the military expenditure to 2% of GDP in 2027. And the Takaichi Cabinet, which took office last year, increased the related expenses in the supplementary budget for 2025 to attain the goal of raising the military expenditure to 2% of GDP two years earlier than the plan.

Not content with it, the present regime is examining the proposal to spend 70~80 trillion yen as military expenditure for 5 years from 2027 to 2031, almost twice as much as about 43 trillion yen allocated to the current 5-year plan.

It was reported that such huge amount of budget would be allotted to the development of various kinds of latest offensive weapons and drone technology, AI and space technology on a preferential basis to cope with new patterns of war.

The moves of the neo-militarist forces to increase the military expenditure, which is breaking records ceaselessly, are highlighting again the present address of Japan that has entered the course of reinvasion after completely removing the shackles put on the war criminal state.

 

Increasing "Defense Expenditure" Going against Public Sentiments

It was reported that at a recent expert panel of the Japanese government for revision of three documents on security, there was an opinion that it is needed to extract the funds for increasing the military expenditure mainly from the total amount of budgetary expenditure and increased taxation should not be ruled out to replenish the shortage.

It can be said that the realistic guarantee for increasing the military expenditure lies in securing stable financial resources, but the public at home and abroad are concerned of it, uncertain whether it is possible to do so given the present situation of the Japanese economy suffering from ever-rising prices and ever-weakening yen.

According to data published by the Japan Ministry of Finance in May, Japan's national debt has reached 1 343 842.6 billion yen, an increase of 20 127.1 billion yen from the previous year's, which is more than 2.5 times its GDP, at the end of 2025, and such rate is the highest among the G7 member states.

Earlier, in January, a research institute in Tokyo announced that the number of bankrupt enterprises with debt of more than 10 million yen has reached 10 300 in 2025, a 2.9 % growth from the previous year, exceeding 10 000 in two consecutive years, and that it is an all-time high since 2013.

In this regard, the Japanese public are getting increasingly vocal, calling for putting the brakes on the large-scale arms buildup and drawing up the budget again in due consideration of the people's livelihood, and asserting that there exist not many financial resources for the military expenditure in the run-up to food consumption tax cuts and the expansion of investment at home and abroad.

It is by no means fortuitous that opposition parties and people are strongly opposing the government's arms buildup, saying that peace and security of the state cannot be ensured by increasing the military expenditure, and urging it to maintain the principle of pacifism of the constitution.

What is clear is that the increase in military expenditure will not only darken the prospect of the recovery of the Japanese economy but also impose heavy burden on the people's living, far from improving Japan's security environment.

 

Increasing "Defense Expenditure" Amplifying Security Crisis of Archipelago

As recognized by the world people, Northeast Asia is witnessing ever-escalating danger of military confrontation due to the U.S. strategy for hegemony. Japan's reckless arms buildup plays a catalyst for further aggravating the regional situation.

Japan seeks to build the foundation for turning itself into a military giant with the backing of its American master and regain the position of the old empire at any cost. Its moves to increase the military expenditure on an unprecedented scale with an aim to secure the capability for preemptive attack on neighboring countries are an act of destroying regional peace and stability and adding fuel to the flames.

If Japan persists in arms buildup without discretion, it will invite inevitable and due response from neighboring countries, and this will result in further escalating the danger of military conflict in the region.

If a military conflict in Northeast Asia starts, there is no guarantee that it will not spill over beyond the region and develop into a new world war threatening the existence of mankind, and the hope for the archipelago's security will become completely meaningless.

If Japan, a war criminal state, properly approaches history, clearly redeems its past crimes and seeks peace without doing anything sinful against neighboring countries again, it has no need to worry about its security.

Japan should refrain from its anachronistic calculation and such gambling as increasing military expenditure, which will aggravate the regime and security crisis, reasonably facing up to the reality. -0-