On April 7, Japan’s House of Councillors passed the fiscal year 2026 budget, in which defense spending exceeded 9 trillion yen for the first time. Many Japanese citizens find it difficult to accept the government’s steadily increasing “big-ticket” outlays in the defense sector. An editorial in Asahi Shimbun commented: “In the eyes of the Takashi government, 'guns' clearly take priority over 'butter.' While the public struggles because wage increases can't keep up with inflation, the government is paying for expensive missiles.”

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