June 16 & 17, 2023

A bill to create a new fund aimed at securing the finance resources needed to cover the planned military buildup spending of 43 trillion yen over the next five years was approved and enacted on June 16 at the House of Councilors plenary session by the majority vote of the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties.

The Japanese Communist Party, Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, “Nippon Ishin no Kai” party and the Democratic Party for the People voted against the bill.

The Ishin and the DPP opposed the bill as it failed to meet the two parties’ demands. The Ishin party demanded that Japan in the law seek its own nuclear deterrence strategy, and the DPP urged the law to help further improve the arms industry’s productivity in order to strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities.

At the Upper House plenary meeting, Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Inoue Satoshi in the discussion prior to the vote said that the bill provides a financial base for the government’s unconstitutional move toward a major arms buildup, including Japan’s possession of enemy base attack capability. He pointed out that it was exposed through Diet deliberations that this capability is directly under the U.S. command. He said, “This means that Japan may be embroiled in U.S.-led wars and thus may come under enemy attack.”

Inoue stressed that in order to finance a huge military buildup, the bill will enable the government to use a portion of public hospitals’ reserve funds and tax revenues aimed at helping rebuild the 2011 disaster-hit regions. In addition, he said that under the bill, the government intends to use its revenues from the selling of government shares in Shoko Chukin Bank, the government-affiliated institution providing financial services to smaller businesses. He said, “It is unacceptable for the government to divert the money originally earmarked for people’s livelihoods and disaster reconstruction, social welfare services, and SME assistance into the funding for the huge military buildup.”

Past related article:
> JCP urges Kishida gov’t to withdraw bill to set up fund for 43-trillion-yen military buildup [April 7, 2023]