Japan's Cabinet will slow the growth of military spending under a new five-year defense plan, Defense Agency officials said today. Analysts say the new plan, which is to be approved Thursday, follows Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu's support of easing military spending in keeping with the collapse of Communism in Europe. Defense Agency officials and senior lawmakers of Kaifu's governing Liberal Democratic Party have opposed a sharp cut, contending the reduction in tensions has not yet extended to the Far East. Analysts say the new plan is only a provisional measure. Critics maintain that it does not go far enough in reducing Japan's defense spending. During the current $138 billion five-year plan, which ends in March, spending increases averaged 5.4 percent a year. The new plan envisions spending of $170.68 billion for 1991-1995, with an average annual increase of less than 3 percent, agency officials said today, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Defense Agency insists it needs at least $175.86 billion to meet 1976 guidelines stating that the Self-Defense Forces, Japan's military, should be capable of repulsing a ``limited, small-scale'' foreign attack. But Finance Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto insists the average annual growth of the defense budget should not exceed 3 percent, an agency official said. Japan also depends on a defense treaty with the United States, which in the past pressed this nation for bigger defense buildups. It now is seeking more Japanese funds to support the 50,000 U.S. troops based in Japan. A policy paper released by the National Security Council on Tuesday said, ``The world situation is heading in desirable directions...and the possibility of a large-scale military conflict is lessening.'' Last week, Kaifu said in Parliament that he planned to restore Japan's self-imposed defense spending ceiling of 1 percent of its gross national product. The 1 percent ceiling, imposed in 1976, was eliminated in 1987 by the administration of Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, who actively promoted the strengthening and modernization of the Self-Defense Forces. The new plan has generated domestic criticism for not cutting defense spending more. ``The rest of the world, including the United States, is revising its security policies to respond to the new world order,'' said Kazuhisa Ogawa, a political analyst. ``But unfortunately, Japan is still sticking with the conventional stance of only seeing the Soviet Union as a potential enemy and following what the United States wants Japan to do,'' he said
