Japan Remains Eighth in Global Military Spending
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According to data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, military spending rose by 1.1% worldwide in 2017 to a total of $1.74 trillion (¥190 trillion). US spending remained the highest in the world, amounting to $610 billion, or around the same as in 2016. China was second, with a 5.6% increase to an estimated $228 billion. Russia and Saudi Arabia swapped positions in 2017, with the latter jumping to third with $69.4 billion, while a significant 20% decrease brought Russian spending down to $66.3 billion. Japanese spending was roughly the same as the previous year at $45.4 billion, so that it remained the eighth highest spender.
Top 10 Military Budgets by Country
| Spending ($ billion) | Spending as a share of GDP (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 610 | 3.1 |
| 2 | China* | 228 | 1.9 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia* | 69.4 | 10.3 |
| 4 | Russia | 66.3 | 4.3 |
| 5 | India | 63.9 | 2.5 |
| 6 | France | 57.8 | 2.3 |
| 7 | Britain | 47.2 | 1.8 |
| 8 | Japan | 45.4 | 0.9 |
| 9 | Germany | 44.3 | 1.2 |
| 10 | South Korea | 39.2 | 2.6 |
Compiled by Nippon.com based on data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
* Estimated figures.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has set a goal of signatories raising their defense spending to over 2% of GDP by 2024. To date, Japan has implemented an unspoken policy of keeping its defense spending within 1% of its GDP to avoid becoming a military superpower. Out of the top 10 military spenders in the world, Japan is the only one that maintains this 1% limit.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is, however, considering the possibility of raising spending to the same 2% of GDP as other NATO members.
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force exercise. © Jiji.)