Japan's defense spending
>> That's the equivalent of $45 billion -- miniscule in relation to
>Enough to put thmm fourth in the world, not all that far behind
>>China &
> > Russia, a hair ahead of the UK, and well ahead of France, Germany, and
> > Italy.
> Absolutely. But the point is still sharp in reverse: it goes to underline
> how trivial a proportion of its GDP normal OECD countries spend on
> defense.
Yes, but isn't Japan's defense budget small vis-a-vis its GDP, because the US spends more? Also note that the Japanese defense budget went up from 4.1 trillion Yen to 5 trillion Yen in the 90s, when the Cold War ended. If we consider the deflation in Japan, the defense budget could be higher in real terms. It goes without saying that Japan, like other nations, must be concealing the true size of its defense budget.
Ulhas