Japan Press Weekly

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2025 July 9 - 15 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Little is known about sharp increase in Japan’s military spending

Akahata reporters on July 11 conducted a person-on-the-street interview near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo regarding the U.S. demand for an increase in Japan’s military spending to over 20 trillion yen. Many of the respondents to the interview were surprised at a graph showing the significant surge in the military budget.

Among the respondents, about 70% said “No” to a military spending increase while about 30% said “Yes”.

“What! I didn’t know that Japan’s military spending is that much.” a 45-year-old office worker and mother of a third-grade junior high school student said with a shocked expression when looking at a graph showing that in contrast to the soaring military spending, the educational budget has seen little growth. She said, “I think more tax money should be spent on education in order to improve teachers’ working conditions, including wages.”

A female job seeker, 46, said, “I didn’t know that the increase in military spending is far larger than that of social security and education. Tax money should be used to improve our livelihoods.”

A 53-year-old woman opposed a further increase in military spending because she became aware of base burdens after she moved to Okinawa three years ago.

A 46-year-old man who is a jewelry artist said that he is in favor of an increase in military spending on the grounds that it is necessary to increase the Self-Defense Forces’ disaster relief capability by such means as purchasing military helicopters that can play a part in relief activities. When an Akahata reporter told him that what the government purchases is missiles and fighters, the man said, “The government should buy items needed for disaster prevention, not for war.”

A female nursing-care worker, 20, talked about hardships caused by a chronic labor shortage in her field, and said, “The government should allocate more budget to education and nursing-care services rather than to the disproportionate amount tied to the military budget.”