Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has officially submitted a request for a record 8.9 trillion yen ($55.5 billion) for fiscal year 2027 in defense budget, marking a 15th consecutive annual increase and a 13th consecutive record high. The request has been placed to allow Japan to pursue its "new ways of warfare," investing in new technologies and systems such as artificial intelligence (AI) and unmanned platforms.
The submitted budget includes a number of major programs related to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), covering surface and submarine fleets, unmanned aerial vehicles, and the strengthening of stand-off and undersea warfare capabilities.
In details:
- 68.9 billion yen ($431M) for 2 Aegis System Equipped Vessels (ASEVs) under construction, with the first entering service by end of FY2027 and the second by end of FY2028.
- SAKURA-class OPVs submitted as an item request (ship count/funding TBD at year-end); the JMSDF plans 12 total, with 6 already funded. These 1,920-tonne vessels carry a ~30-person crew and are designed for UAV (including V-BAT), RHIB, and USV operations.
- Continued TAIGEI-class submarine construction funding (final boat count/cost unspecified), a 3,000-tonne-displacement boat using lithium-ion batteries for extended underwater endurance.
- 292.2 billion yen ($1.83B) to acquire 17 MQ-9B SEAGUARDIAN UAVs (in JMSDF trial operations since 2023, formally selected in December 2024) to bolster ISRT capabilities.
- 3 billion yen ($18.7M) plus an item request to continue F-35B-enabling modifications on helicopter carriers JS IZUMO and JS KAGA (100M yen and 2.8B yen respectively).
- 56.2 billion yen ($351M) for the ship-launched improved Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, set to debut on refurbished destroyer JS TERUZUKI in FY2027.
- 16.3 billion yen ($102M) for submarine-launched guided missiles (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) for the TAIGEI class, targeting ships and land targets.
- A new item request for an underwater-launched hypersonic guided missile, developed separately from the above submarine-launched missile.
- Item requests for UUV-related research, including stand-off missile launch modules, search/attack/networking capabilities, and underwater power-supply technology.
- 1.1 billion yen ($6.9M) to add TOMAHAWK launch capability to 3 additional Aegis destroyers (KONGO, ASHIGARA, MAYA), part of Japan's broader plan to acquire up to 400 TOMAHAWK missiles via US FMS.
The request confirms the two main lines of Japan's rearmament: reducing personnel exposure through unmanned systems and expanding long-range strike reach, consistent with the counterstrike capabilities formalized in the 2022 National Security Strategy.
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