Japan needs $324bn over 5 years to bolster defenses: ministry

TOKYO -- Japan will need to spend 48 trillion yen ($324 billion) on defense over the next five years if it wants to realize its strong security goals, according to estimates from the Defense Ministry.

The figure is 1.7 times the five-year defense spending from fiscal 2019, which stood at 27.47 trillion yen. The new five-year plan would start from fiscal 2023.