The Defense Ministry plans to seek a record-high budget of ¥5.26 trillion ($48.1 billion) for fiscal 2018 as the country seeks to beef up its missile defense capabilities in the face of growing threats by North Korea, a government source said Tuesday.
The ministry plans to set aside ¥47.2 billion to acquire a new type of interceptor missile to be loaded on Self-Defense Forces destroyers equipped with the Aegis missile defense system, while also asking for funding to introduce a land-based Aegis system known as Aegis Ashore.
The fiscal 2018 budget request would mark a 2.5 percent rise from the initial budget for the current year through March. The defense budget has been on the rise since fiscal 2013 under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, topping ¥5 trillion in the fiscal 2017 budget for a second-straight year.