TOKYO: According to a recent poll conducted by a local media outle, the majority of residents in Japan are opposed to the country's aggressive defence outlays.

According to a study conducted by the national news agency Kyodo on Saturday, around 80% of respondents disapproved of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's proposal to finance a portion of defence spending through taxation.

As oper Xinhua news report, the reading increased from the 64.9% percentage that was reported in a comparable opinion poll at the end of last year.

In order to strengthen its defence capabilities, the Japanese government has agreed to increase defence spending by more than 50%, or $319 billion, over the course of five years beginning in fiscal 2023.

As per the budget, non-tax money will be utilised to finance the government's defence expenditures starting in April. The budget is expected to double from the country's long-standing spending cap of around one percent of GDP to around two percent of GDP in the year beginning April 2027.

In the study, about 60% of participants said that the five-year defence building plan was "not appropriate," and 88% said that Kishida's justification for strengthening Japan's defence was "not sufficient."

The country's more comprehensive five-year plan has come under harsh criticism from the general public, opposition parties, and academics, in large part because it contradicts Japan's constitutionally mandated pacifist attitude.

Regarding the significant policy change the country has made, which is highlighted in its updated security documents, 76% of those surveyed had little or no knowledge of Japan's new national security strategy and related documents, which were approved in December and included a plan to increase defence spending and acquire counterstrike capabilities.

The poll also revealed that about 60% of respondents believed at possessing counterstrike capabilities would lead to an arms race with neighbouring countries.

A total of 3,000 Japanese men and women who were 18 years of age or older were included in the Kyodo study. On March 7, a questionnaire was mailed out, and by April 17, 2,043 people had responded, 1,959 of which were deemed legitimate.

Japan PM Fumio Kishida arrives in S. Korea for landmark summit

South Korea hold first finance leaders' meeting in Japan

Prime minister Fumio Kishida will travel abroad from April 29 to May 5 to visit Egypt