Japan's Defense Ministry requested 8.9 trillion yen, or about $55.6 billion, for the fiscal year beginning in April 2027. The preliminary figure is only slightly above the current year's 8.8 trillion-yen request, but the final total is expected to increase after a new national security strategy is approved.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government is preparing that strategy to strengthen Japan's counterstrike capability. Under a five-year plan adopted in 2022, Tokyo has already doubled defense spending to roughly 2 percent of gross domestic product, expanding the Self-Defense Forces' offensive role as China becomes more assertive.
The ministry says warfare in Ukraine has demonstrated the need to develop and mass-produce low-cost uncrewed weapons. Its plan combines attack drones with long-range missiles to make counterstrikes more economical, reduce casualties and create an air-defense network that can engage numerous threats without relying solely on expensive interceptors.
An unspecified portion of the request would acquire unmanned attack systems launched from the air or from below the water. Japan is also seeking submarine-launched hypersonic missiles and has continued to reinforce its southwestern islands with longer-range missiles and interceptors near strategically sensitive sea lanes.
Uncrewed systems could partly offset a shrinking pool of military personnel as Japan's population ages and declines. Building an entirely domestic drone industry will be difficult, however, because the country's commercial market is dominated by imported Chinese products and local manufacturers still need scale and specialized components.
Artificial intelligence would be integrated into command and control to accelerate battlefield assessment, target selection and operational decisions. Japan is considering established foreign systems, including American technology, alongside domestic development and a proposed AI orchestrator capable of combining several applications while preserving autonomous selection and operation.
The digital plan also includes a Defense Ministry cloud for highly sensitive data and resilient communications during war or disaster. Costs were not specified, leaving the government to define later how quickly the architecture will be deployed and how military information will be protected across interconnected systems.
Tokyo also wants a state-owned, contractor-operated model to prevent shortages when suppliers withdraw. The government could acquire factories and commission private companies to run them, while supporting research and restructuring across an industry whose largest groups are prospering but whose smaller participants have often left because of weak profits, uncertainty and reputational concerns.
