Dollar hegemony and crisis of Japan's military dependence on American equipment

Pars Today- This year's devaluation of yen against dollar has been the lowest in four decades which has undermined Japan's plans for greatest military changes in history after WWII.

The Japanese currency trouble has occurred in a sensitive juncture in time. According to Pars Today, devaluation of yen against dollar has increased Japan's expenses of military equipment imports including helicopter, submarine and tanks mostly from the US.

The Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, announced a new strategy of national security in 2022 which has doubled the money appropriated for defense expenses. The ¥43 trillion budget during 5 years equals nearly $819 billion at that time.

Kishida called the increase of military expenses at that time as a "turning point" in the history of Japan. But the point is that the budget had been determined according to the rate of one dollar for 108 yens; while this figure has reached to $1 for 161 yens. Now, the devaluation of yen against dollar has highly increased the expenses of equipment including helicopter, submarine and tank. Historically speaking, a weak yen has contributed to huge Japanese exporters like "Toyota Motors" to make their products cheaper and more competitive abroad, while making imports more expensive. The government's effort to provide military equipment is an example in this regard. In other words, it is unknown how much these expenses have pressured the Japanese economy.

The devaluation of yen in the past three years has increased the prices of staples such as food and fuel in Japan and affected the household expenses.

According to New York Times, the lowest fall of yen during four decades which has undermined Japan's plans for greatest military changes in history after WWII.

The Japanese government has reduced orders of aircraft and the officials of the country have warned for likely further reduction to occur. Japan has purchased most of its military equipment from the US in dollars. The purchase power of the government has decreased strongly due to devaluation of yen.

Satoshi Morimoto, former Defense Minister of Japan, said in an interview, "Currently, there is a difference between what we have in terms of military capabilities and our main goal."

Morimoto announced in this interview that the value of Japan's defense budget has effectively decreased %30 for the past 5 years.

Key phrases: US and Japan, role of dollar in world, dollar weapon for US, US military exports, Japan's military program  

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