The government on Thursday endorsed provisional basic policy guidelines on defense spending in the fiscal 2010 budget as it put off compiling new long-term guidelines for a year.
Based on the current guidelines, the provisional guidelines seek to curb spending because of the government's financial problems while striving to maintain deterrence. They do not include an increase in Self-Defense Forces personnel.
"Because filling and improving the SDF's frontline units are extremely important, we will consider measures to (increase personnel levels) in the process of reviewing the National Defense Program Guidelines," Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said.
The provisional guidelines also address the need to consider deepening cooperation between Japan and the United States to maintain peace and stability in the region and the international community.
The reference to cooperation is an apparent attempt to ease U.S. frustration over the Futenma base relocation dispute.
The guidelines were endorsed at a formal extraordinary meeting of Cabinet ministers after some of them, including Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Kitazawa, gave the go-ahead at a meeting of the Security Council of Japan, the decision-making panel on defense and security matters.
The guidelines express concern over the North Korean nuclear and missile threats while noting that countries near Japan, China in particular, have modernized their military capabilities.
The government crafted the provisional guidelines to keep its decision to put off compiling the new guidelines from affecting next year's funding for SDF operations and procurement.
Along with that postponement, the government has also put off devising a new midterm Defense Program, which maps out the size of troop units and expenses based on the guidelines.
Meanwhile, the government has put on hold an additional deployment of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors for ballistic missile defense in fiscal 2010.