Japan’s defense spending will increase more than 16% next year under a record military budget approved Friday that is intended to accelerate the deployment of long-range cruise missiles that can hit targets in China or North Korea. The 7.95 trillion-yen ($56 billion) defense budget for the 2024 fiscal year that begins in March marks the second year of a five-year military buildup program under a new security strategy Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government adopted a year ago. The reinforcement
Rest of World News: Japan eased its arms export restrictions on Friday, allowing it to export lethal weapons to certain countries, in the pacifist nation's first major ov.
The Japanese government will sell Patriot air defense missiles to the U.S., marking Tokyo’s first foray into selling complete lethal weapons to allied nations since the post-World War II era. Japan’s national security cabinet this week updated its export rules to allow for the shipment of completed weapons systems. Previously, only the transfer of components…