JAPAN TODAY



 

Japan is considering earmarking over 100 billion yen for the fiscal 2026 initial budget for mass deployment of defense drones amid the increasingly severe security environment, government sources said Tuesday.

The government may opt to buy low-priced drones made in Turkey, which have been used by Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion, so that the aerial devices can be deployed to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces as early as possible, according to the sources.

The plan in the long term, though, is for Japan to eventually pursue domestic manufacturing, the sources said, adding that to promote such production, a scheme to reinforce supply chains of related parts will be created.

The Defense Ministry, which set up a task force in April on how to utilize drones in future combat, is expected to request the budget for the next fiscal year, starting from April, by the end of this month, the sources said.

A senior government official said Japan will pursue the policy of "'preferring quantity to quality' and explore a strategy of establishing superiority with the number" of drones.

The effectiveness of drones was highlighted in the country's Defense Buildup Program, which was drawn up in 2022. According to the program, the SDF will "expeditiously procure various types of unmanned assets" to "accomplish missions while minimizing human loss."

In the current fiscal 2025 budget, 41.5 billion yen was set aside for the deployment of the U.S.-made large drone MQ-9B SeaGuardian for better surveillance operations, and 3.2 billion yen for small offensive drones, amid China's intensifying military activities in the airspace and waters surrounding Japan.

In June, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, submitted a proposal to the ministry, saying that the government needs to prepare for "new styles of combat" utilizing drones, drawing lessons from the war in Ukraine.

With recent Chinese aircraft violations of Japan's airspace in mind, some LDP lawmakers have said that Japan should use drones to deal with such flights.