Japan’s lower house approves bill to pool funds for defense spending

Japan’s lower house on Tuesday approved a bill creating a special pool of funds to substantially increase defense spending despite opposition lawmakers’ resistance.

If enacted, the law will allow the government to set aside non-tax revenue derived from selling government assets or transferring money from its special accounts in the state budget, specifically for use in defense spending over multiple years.

For fiscal 2023, the first of a five-year period that will see Japan’s defense spending reach a combined 43 trillion yen ($310 billion), the government has allocated over 3.38 trillion yen f...