Defense spending will drop for the seventh consecutive year in fiscal 2009 to a 14-year low, thanks to falling oil prices and savings on bulk purchases of arms and munitions, according to the draft of the state budget unveiled Saturday.

According to the draft, defense spending for the year starting in April will edge down 0.1 percent, or ¥5.6 billion, to ¥4.77 trillion compared with the initial budget for 2008.

Unless adjustments expand it between now and Wednesday, the size of the initial defense budget should be under ¥4.8 trillion for the second straight year.