Japan’s Defense Ministry has asked the Finance Ministry for ¥8.8454 trillion ($59.8 billion) in funding for the year starting April 2026, topping last year’s initial allocation by about ¥145 billion and marking a record fourth straight annual rise. The request forms part of a five-year, ¥43 trillion defense spending plan intended to lift military outlays to 2 percent of gross domestic product by fiscal 2027. The proposal devotes roughly ¥312 billion to a new unmanned ‘SHIELD’ programme that would deploy thousands of aerial, surface and sub-surface drones to create a multi-layered coastal defence network stretching across Japan’s southwestern islands. A further ¥1.024 trillion is earmarked for long-range stand-off missiles, including the mass production of hypersonic glide weapons designed to strike targets from outside an adversary’s reach. Other items include ¥765.8 billion to improve service members’ pay and working conditions, expanded cyber and space units, and the reorganisation of the Air Self-Defense Force into an Aerospace Self-Defense Force from fiscal 2026. The request comes amid wider budget submissions expected to push combined ministerial demands above ¥122 trillion, fuelling debate over how the government will finance rising social-security and defence costs.