Japan OKs new budget incl. hefty arms cost to deter China

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s lower house of parliament has approved a 114 trillion yen ($836 billion) budget for the next fiscal year. It includes a record 6.8 trillion yen ($50 billion) in defense spending, part of a military buildup as China’s influence in the region grows. The 2023 defense budget, up 20% from a year earlier, includes 211.3 billion yen ($1.55 billion) for deployment in 2026 of U.S.-made, long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles that can be launched from warships and hit targets up to 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) away. Tuesday’s clearance of the budget in parliament’s lower house means it will be enacted by the end of March regardless of any decision by the upper house.