Japan's arms imports in the 2019-2023 period were up 155% from those of 2014-2018 span, according to a report on international arms transfers released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
According to the Swedish institute, Japan's arms imports accounted for 4.1% of the total, making the Asian nation the sixth-largest weapons importer in the world.
During the five years through 2023, Japan procured 29 fighter jets from the United States, investing a large amount of funds to improve its long-range attack capabilities, the institute said.
Japan has also ordered 400 long-range missiles from the U.S., the institute said, adding that the procurement "will, for the first time, give Japan the capability to reach targets deep inside China or North Korea."
Meanwhile, arms imports by neighboring South Korea rose 6.5%.
"There is little doubt that the sustained high levels of arms imports by Japan and other U.S. allies and partners in Asia and Oceania are largely driven by one key factor: concern over China's ambitions," Siemon Wezeman, senior researcher at the institute's Arms Transfers Program, said in the report.
India was the largest arms importer in the world, followed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. On the other hand, U.S. was the biggest exporter, with China ranked fourth.
Ukraine was the world's fourth-largest importer and the biggest importer in Europe, as Western countries supplied weapons following Russia's full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
Russia fell behind France to become the world's third-largest weapons exporter, due to a decrease in the number of its export destinations, which stood at 12 in 2023 against 31 in 2019.
The institute said that Russia purchased ballistic missiles from North Korea between 2022 and 2023 "in violation of a United Nations arms embargo" on Pyongyang.