Rising rhreats, rising budgets: Japan targets 2% GDP in defence by 2027

Japan is embarking on a dramatic shift in its postwar defense policy, aiming to ramp up its military spending to 2% of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027 — a move that would bring its budget in line with NATO standards and significantly bolster its defense capabilities in the face of mounting regional threats.

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani announced the strategic increase on April 15, revealing that Tokyo plans to spend around 8.5 trillion yen (approximately $59 billion) on defense in the current fiscal year, with an additional 1.5 trillion yen ($10.4 billion) allocated for related expenditures. That brings Japan’s total security outlay for the year to nearly $70 billion, marking a major departure from the country’s traditional pacifist stance, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

“For decades, Japan capped its defense budget at around 1% of GDP,” Nakatani said during a press briefing, according to Kyodo News. “But evolving security dynamics demand a new approach. We must be prepared to defend ourselves and contribute more actively to regional stability.”

With Japan’s GDP expected to reach $4.69 trillion by year’s end, the new 2% target would push future annual defense spending well beyond $90 billion — effectively doubling what Tokyo has historically allocated. Japan has upheld a pacifist constitution since 1947, but rising military pressure from China’s expanding regional presence and persistent threats from North Korea have shifted public opinion and policymaking toward a more assertive posture.

The decision comes amid growing demands from Washington, where former President Donald Trump and now senior defense officials have repeatedly called on allies — including Japan, South Korea, and NATO — to take on a greater share of defense burdens. Recently, US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby went further, suggesting Japan should raise its military spending to 3% of GDP.

In a parallel move signaling Tokyo’s strategic ambitions, Japan has proposed a sweeping new security concept to the United States, dubbed the “one-theater approach.” According to the Asahi Shimbun, the proposal was presented during a March 30 visit by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who met with Minister Nakatani in Tokyo.

The “one-theater” strategy would drastically widen the operational scope of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF), treating the East China Sea, South China Sea, Korean Peninsula, and surrounding waters as a single, unified military theater. The initiative aims to strengthen regional deterrence and coordination with US forces at a time of intensifying geopolitical friction across Asia.

Tokyo’s multi-pronged pivot — involving both financial investment and strategic overhaul — signals that Japan is preparing to play a much more active role in shaping the Indo-Pacific security landscape.

By Tamilla Hasanova