Chapter III Defense Budget
With the worldwide expansion of the functional and operational ranges of the JSDF, the defense budget of 2015 had a sharp rise. Since Mr. Abe formed the cabinet for the second time, he has increased the defense budget for three consecutive years. According to the Defense of Japan of 2015 and the statistics released in the defense budgets of 2016 and 2015, the defense budget of FY 2015 is 4.98 trillion yen, an increase of 953 billion yen （2%） when compared with that of FY 2013.
If the 2,110 billion yen supplementary budget of FY 2014 （mainly the expenditure of coping with disaster, maintaining bases and equipment, and activities） included, the defense budget of FY2015 amounts to 5.19 trillion yen, creating a new historical record.
The main features of the defense budget of FY 2015 are：
Continuing to reinforcing the defense capabilities of the southwestern islands. For weaponry and equipment, 516 billion yen was spent on procuring 5 vertical takeoff-and-landing Osprey transport helicopter；203billion yen was spent on purchasing 30 US AAV7s used in offshore island landing operations； 3,504 billion yen was spent on acquiring 20 Japan-made P-1 anti-submarine aircraft, exceeding the total number procured from 2008 to 2014； 232 billion yen was spent on purchasing a new E2-D warning aircraft； 3 Global Hawks were bought in order to improve warning and surveillance capabilities. The expenditure on military deployment includes the creation of the 9 Air Division at Naha and construction of barracks and infrastructure for the deployment of a coastal surveillance unit and the creation of an amphibious unit in Yonaguni.
Focusing on enhancing the JMSDF and JASDF capabilities of attacks and operations. For the procurement and upgrade of weaponry and equipment, 1,032 billion yen was spent on procuring 6 US-made F-35A fighters； 1,680 billion yen was spent on purchasing the Zeus cruiser and on upgrading two other cruisers at current service. As to the expenditure on development and research of weaponry and equipment, it concludes 3 major areas. Firstly, the budget for “project related to the new generation of fighters”, about 342 billion yen, is mainly committed to developing and researching new fighters when the F-2 fighters retire in future. This indicates that Japan has set up the project of the next generation of fighters and has begun to seek overseas collaborators. The second area is the “research on large anti-heavy-warship and anti-surface missile heads”, mainly the heads that is capable of penetrating the exterior hull of heavy warships of the aircraft carrier class. The intension is targeted at the aircraft carrier of China. The third area is the “research on electromagnetic guns installed on warships”. The guns will be used in air defense and anti-warship operations, even in surface attacks.
Increasing the budget for the expansion of U.S.-Japan defense cooperation. For weaponry and equipment, 94 billion yen was spent on enhancing capabilities of joint R＆D in the missile defense system. The newly built and upgraded Aegis cruiser will be equipped with new systems of
sharing positioning information of cruise missiles among friendly aircraft and vessels and rapid interception, aimed at improving US-Japan joint operation capabilities and interception precision.
With regard to the consolidation of US-Japan alliances, 3,127 billion yen was committed to the realignment of US military bases in Japan, including redeployment of US forces from Okinawa to Guam and shifting of the US base from Futenma to Henoko.
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