Japan to seek over 5.4 tril. yen defense budget with China in mind

Japan's Defense Ministry will seek another record budget of over 5.4 trillion yen ($49 billion) for fiscal 2022, aiming to beef up its capability around remote southwestern islands to counter China's growing naval activities, government sources said Thursday.The request would exceed the ministry's highest-ever 5.3 trillion yen initial budget for fiscal 2021 started in April and also reflects an increase in the cost to develop cutting-edge technologies, such as unmanned aircraft using artificial intelligence, according to the sources.The defense budget could further expand, possibly topping …READ FULL ARTICLE