Dec 23 08:23 PM US/EasternTOKYO, Dec. 24 (AP) - (Kyodo) — The Cabinet approved Sunday the government's plans to boost spending on a missile defense system to 182.6 billion yen ($1.54 billion) in the next fiscal year and newly set aside subsidies to convince local communities to accept the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.
The spending on the missile defense being co-developed with the United States marks a rise of 42.7 billion yen, or 30.5 percent, from the initial budget for the current fiscal year. This is part of the overall defense budget of 4,801.6 billion yen for fiscal 2007 beginning April 1, down 12.3 billion yen, or 0.3 percent, for the fifth straight year of decline.
The defense budget approved by the Cabinet is some 3 billion yen more than the Finance Ministry's draft released Wednesday due partly to an increase in the subsidies for local communities hosting U.S. bases and costs for reorganization in the Defense Agency. But the amount is still short of the agency's request for a 1.5 percent increase to 4,863.6 billion yen.
The decision to boost the outlays for Japan's missile defense capabilities comes after North Korea test-launched ballistic missiles in July and put the region around the countries into unease.
The government's plan includes upgrading of Aegis destroyers and the Patriot missile system to make them capable of ballistic missile defense.
In the budget for the coming year, the government will also set aside a total of 7.2 billion yen in connection with the planned U.S. military realignment, with some 5 billion yen earmarked as subsidies for related local communities to convince them to cooperate.
Japan and the United States in May concluded their final realignment plan despite many local communities opposing the plan.
The other 2.2 billion yen is to cover a number of on-site surveys in local communities hosting U.S. military bases, including 1.0 billion yen to conduct an assessment of possible environmental impacts from the planned relocation of the heliport functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma [Futenma] Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture to the coastal area of Camp Schwab in Nago in the prefecture.
The fifth consecutive year of cuts in spending by the government on national defense comes as a result of its continued cost-cutting efforts that range from methods of purchasing equipment to more efficient use of facilities.
For example, the government will reduce the cost of eight F-2 fighter jets to 105.6 billion yen from 121.8 billion yen by buying them together in a one-year contract rather than separately over two years.
Posts
