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The head of a Japanese Defense Ministry expert panel said Monday that the nation’s planned 43 trillion yen ($290 billion) defense outlays for five years from the current fiscal year 2023 may be insufficient, citing recent price surges and a weaker yen. The spending plan is already much larger than in past years to address security threats from China’s military buildup and North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. But the panel’s head, Sadayuki Sakakibara, cast doubt on whether the government can strengthen its defense posture under the plan. The government should primarily focus on sticking …

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