Japan poised to boost defense interests.

• Author: Machi, Vivienne
• Position: Global Defense

The Japanese government is using its heightened defense budget to invest in maritime security technology, missile defense and stealth capabilities to combat growing regional threats--like China -- and increase cooperation with the United States.

Japan's defense account has grown five years in a row. The country recently submitted a defense budget request for $51 billion for fiscal year 2017, a 2 percent increase over the previous year, said Nick Szechenyi, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

"Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe's government is not only spending more, but is trying to respond to regional security threats," he said. Those include nuclear weapon and missile technology from North Korea and uncertainty stemming from disputes with China in the East China Sea, he said.

Big-ticket purchases include Lockheed Martin's F-35A joint strike fighter. Japan's first F-35 recently rolled off the production line, he said. The country also plans to upgrade its PAC-3 missile launcher systems, and is co-developing with the United States upgrades to its standard missile 3 Block 2A ship-based missile defense system.

South Korea's recent announcement to adopt the U.S. Army's terminal high-altitude area defense anti-missile system has prompted speculation about whether Japan might also acquire the Lockheed Martin-developed product, Szechenyi said.

"It started the debate about whether that could happen in Japan, but it's still far off," he said.

Japan is also looking to invest in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities and maritime domain awareness, Szechenyi said. The 2017 budget request includes the purchase of a new submarine and upgrades to maritime surveillance aircraft. Long-term investments could include unmanned undersea vehicles to give Japanese defense forces "an operational idea of what's going on in its neighborhood," he said.

The island nation is also seeking to...