Japan’s defence sector got a boost this week when Shinzo Abe’s government announced a record military budget. But making good use of the cash will challenge a domestic industry shrivelled by years of low orders.
At Y4.98tn ($42.8bn) this year, defence spending is up by more than 5 per cent since Mr Abe came to power in 2012 and responded to China’s rise by making the military almost the only growth area in Japan’s government.
The defence budget remains dwarfed by the surge in China’s spending. But procurement reforms in the 2015 proposal show Tokyo is attempting to stretch its constrained finances further, and in a way that could help revitalise an industry that has long been a sleeping giant.