TOKYO — Japan's defense ministry on Monday made its biggest ever budget request, as Tokyo bolsters its military amid lingering territorial rows and worries over China's expanding naval reach.
The ministry wants ¥5.09 trillion ($42 billion) for the next fiscal year, with the focus on strengthening protection of a string of southern islands that stretch from Japan's mainland to waters near Taiwan.
The request, if approved, would mark the fourth straight annual defense budget increase and a 2.2 percent rise from the budget for the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2016.
The trend reflects Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's attempt to build a more active military, with an eye on a possible escalation of tensions with China.
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