Research
Japan is weighing a leap from its informal 1% defense-spending norm to as much as 3.5% of GDP (~¥24 trillion, more than double current outlays), driven by Chinese/North Korean threats and U.S. burden-sharing pressure, but the target remains an internal deliberation that Defense Ministry officials publicly deny—and its mere discussion has already spiked JGB yields. The core tensions are unresolved: economists split over whether the sum would crowd out eldercare and social spending or represent necessary deterrence insurance, GDP-ratio comparisons to NATO/South Korea are contested as poor proxies for actual capability, and expanded land-acquisition powers under LURA raise sharp property-rights and local-autonomy objections, particularly from Okinawan communities already bearing disproportionate base burdens. No financing roadmap, procurement-distribution data, or LURA economic-impact studies
An equally significant and controversial reform that has attracted less attention abroad is the ‘Act on the Review and Regulation of the Use of Real Estate Surrounding Important Facilities and on Remote Territorial Islands’ (hereafter the Land Use Regulation Act, LURA), described as the firsttime la...
Tokyo, Sept. 24 (Jiji Press)--A project team of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party compiled on Thursday a draft proposal calling for the introduction of a permit system for the acquisitions of land near facilities deemed critical for national security. In the draft, the team on national securit...
Alas, this (now) supposed conventional wisdom remains incorrect, as it was when it first started appearing back in December. The Kishida government has never announced a plan to “double” Japan’s defense budget. Whether due to misinterpretation of an announced 2% GDP target for *all* “national securi...
Sep 15, 2026 Japan is considering a new midterm defense spending target of 3.5% of gross domestic product in line with NATO and other U.S. allies, a move that could send a shock wave through financial markets concerned about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s spending plans. Japanese defense officials ...
###### Wed, Sep 16, 2026 page1 - # Japan eyes defense spending at 3.5% of GDP, sources say - Bloomberg Japan is considering a new midterm defense spending target of 3.5 percent of GDP in line with NATO and other US allies, a move that could send a shock wave through financial markets concerned about...
Japan Considers Boosting Defense Budget to 3.5% of GDP Under US Pressure - Bloomberg - Americas+1 212 318 2000 ... - - Businessweek ... Japan is considering a new mid-term defense spending target of 3.5% of GDP in line with NATO and other US allies, a move that could send a shockwave through financi...
自民党外国人政策本部（新藤義孝本部長）の「安全保障と土地法制に関するプロジェクトチーム（ＰＴ）」は２４日、安保上特に重要な施設周辺の土地取得を国による許可制にすることを柱とした提言案をまとめた。外国政府のために働く者については取得を禁じるよう主張した。 現行の重要土地等調査法は重要土地の利用規制に主眼を置き、取得自体は禁止していない。提言案は「新たな安保環境には必ずしも対応できず、現行制度には限界がある」と指摘。 同法が定める「特定重要施設」のうち、ドローン攻撃の脅威に脆弱（ぜいじゃく）で特に保護が必要と判断された施設の周辺区域などの取得を対象に、許可制を導入するよう求めた。
- Japan’s *National security strategy* (NSS) revisions were announced in December 2022. Since then, Japan has been implementing the plans in the NSS documents, including the procurement of counterstrike capability. ... - The NSS plans have generated debate in the Japanese parliament and community, w...
Public support for the Japanese government’s ¥43 trillion five-year defense plan began to erode once talk turned to tax hikes to finance the massive buildup. The author clarifies the extent of the spending increase and analyzes the public’s conflicted response. ... Much attention has been devoted to...
# Japan considers medium-term defence spending worth 3.5% of GDP, Bloomberg reports
Japanese government bonds fell after the government was said to be considering a new mid-term defense spending target equivalent to 3.5% of gross domestic product, adding to fiscal concerns and outweighing support from a solid 20-year auction. Defense officials have signaled a willingness to sharply...
Japan has the highest debt-to-GDP ratio among the advanced economies, most of this debt held domestically, exposing the country to important risks from a negative feedback loop between the sovereign and financial sectors. ... What is the outlook for debt? We use the debt sustainability analysis fram...
The 10-year US Treasury yield rose to the highest level in almost two decades, the latest milestone in a bruising global bond selloff driven by surging energy prices, mounting debt and inflation. Japan is considering a new mid-term defense spending target of 3.5% of GDP in line with NATO and other U...
**Washington, DC** [1] - *The Japanese economy has displayed impressive resilience in the face of global shocks and is experiencing a sustained period of output growing above potential. Domestic demand has been robust and unemployment remains low. ... While nominal wages are rising at a historic pac...
국가안전보장과 영해 보전을 이유로 중요 방위시설 주변이나 외딴 섬 등의 토지와 건물 등에 대해 소유와 이용을 규제할 수 있는가. 일본은 2021년 6월 16일 「중요 시설 주변 및 국경 낙도 등에서의 토지 이용 상황 조사 및 이용 규제 등에 관한 법률」(이하 중요토지조사규제법)을 제정하여, 사실상 소유와 이용을 규제하고 있다. 일본 정부가 중요토지조사규제법을 제정하면서 입법의 논거로 삼은 것이 외국 자본에 의한 특정 지역의 토지 취득에 대한 우려였다. ... 그런데 중요토지조사규제법의 제정 과정에서 일본 국회를 중심으로 법안의 문제...
In a survey by Japan’s Cabinet Office, 45.2% of respondents supported strengthening the Self-Defense Forces, which was a new high, compared with 49.8% who wanted to keep it at the same level. ... A 2025 Cabinet Office public opinion survey on Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and defense issues revealed t...
This doubtless reflects a shift in public opinion, which currently supports a larger defense budget according to most opinion polls. For example, even in December (when the rift in the LDP was daily in the news), a monthly survey conducted by NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) found 51% in favor of the ...
Significantly, however, it makes an exception for the function of compulsory acquisition of land for US bases, which the central government has taken back from local government. As of April 2000, the central government will assume the duty it previously delegated to local government on this matter. ...
The ruling was based on the judgement of the Supreme Court that Kadena Air Base had been ‘offered’ to the US through the Japan-US Security Treaty and SOFA, and therefore the residents did not have a right to demand limitation of the operation of the US military flights there. These two examples...
payments six-fold to the owners of land on the bases, and offered benefits, such as new town halls and conference centers, to communities impacted by the bases.
The National Security Strategy of Japan (Cabinet Decision in December 2022) provides that Japan will take the necessary measures to make the level of its budget, for both the fundamental reinforcement of defense capabilities and complementary initiatives, reach 2% of the GDP as of the strategy formu...
Significantly, however, it makes an exception for the function of compulsory acquisition of land for US bases, which the central government has taken back from local government. As of April 2000, the central government will assume the duty it previously delegated to local government on this matter. ...
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