The Abe administration's draft budget adopted Tuesday includes ¥4.88 trillion in defense spending in fiscal 2014, a 2.8 percent increase from this year.
But the Finance Ministry said most of this year's increase is a result of the termination of special temporary salary cuts for Self-Defense Forces personnel and does not represent a substantial expansion in defense spending.
"The increase is not to beef up the ability of the Self-Defense Forces whatsoever," a senior Finance Ministry official in charge of the defense budget said.