Japan’s Defense Budget

[Anchor Lead]

Japan is allocating more to its defense budget in the face of North Korean missile provocations. Tokyo will set aside an emergency budget of over 1.7 billion U.S. dollars for defense alone next year. Let’s find out more.

[Pkg]

North Korea has been firing a series of ballistic missiles this year. More than 20 missiles have been fired. In September, the North simultaneously fired three Nodong medium-range ballistic missiles, which dropped in Japan's exclusive economic zone in the East Sea. Staying on alert, the Japanese government signed a military intelligence sharing deal with South Korea as a way to obtain more information on North Korea's missile programs. It has also decided to upgrade its missile defense system with an emergency budget of 1.7 billion U.S. dollars.

[Soundbite] Tomimo Inada(Japan Defense Minister) : "Countering North Korea's repeated missile provocations is urgent. Japan should enhance its missile defense capabilities."

The budget will be spent on deploying PAC3 enhanced interceptor missiles to double the reach on ground and on Aegis destroyers. The Japanese government is also expected to soon set up a committee tasked with strengthening missile defense preparedness under the Defense Ministry. The panel will review the introduction of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense or THAAD missile system. Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada is also expected to visit the U.S. THAAD base in Guam on December 11th in order to discuss the deployment. If it hosts the U.S. missile defense battery, Japan will have a three-layer missile interception system consisting of SM3, THAAD and PAC3.