Japan Boosts Defense Spending to Counter China Island Claims
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Japan will increase defense spending for a third straight year as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to counter China’s claims to remote islands in the East China Sea.
The budget for the year starting April will be 4.98 trillion yen ($42 billion), up from 4.84 trillion yen in fiscal 2014, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg. Spending on defense will account for about 5 percent of the national budget, which is set to be approved by the cabinet tomorrow.