Japan’s FY 2023 Defense Item Procurement from U.S. Triples

Tokyo, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–The contract amount for the Japanese government’s defense equipment procurement in fiscal 2023 under the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales program, or FMS, totaled about 1.38 trillion yen, more than three times the amount five years earlier, the Board of Audit of Japan said Friday. In fiscal 2025, which ends in March this year, the Japanese government has achieved its goal of increasing defense spending as a share of gross domestic product to 2 pct. The audit board requested Japan’s Defense Ministry to streamline the FMS procurement process as the country is expected to continue purchasing defense equipment from the United States. Under the FMS program, the U.S. government provides its allies and like-minded countries with sensitive defense equipment. In principle, Japan makes payments for U.S. military items in advance of delivery. Any overpayments are refunded upon settlement after delivery. The audit board looked into FMS procurement deals from fiscal 2018 onward, finding that Japan’s contract value stood at 1,386.7 billion yen in fiscal 2023, surging from 407.8 billion yen in fiscal 2018. Of the total value of such contracts during fiscal 2018 to fiscal 2023, F-35A and F-35B stealth fighter jets accounted for the biggest part. For FMS procurement, payments can be made over several fiscal years. Due to the yen’s weakening, total payments in fiscal 2023-fiscal 2025 are expected to increase by some 300 billion yen from the initial contract amount. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]