The request is part an overall budget demand by Japan's defence agency for 4.93 trillion yen for the fiscal year starting in April 2005, a rise of 1.2 percent from this year.

If approved by the government, it would mark the fastest rate of increase in military spending in eight years since a 1.98 percent jump in fiscal 1997.

Highlighting the military budget proposal is a call for 144.2 billion yen (1.3 billion dollars) to build up Japan's US-developed ballistic missile defence (BMD) systems, a leap of 35.0 percent from this fiscal year.

"We aim to enhance our capabilities to cope with new threats and various emergencies such as ballistic missile strikes, guerrilla attacks, spy ships ... and nuclear, biological or chemical weapons," the agency said in a statement.

The money would be used mainly to buy seaborne Standard Missilemissiles, upgrade land-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3anti-missile systems and remodel Aegis destroyers, a defence agency official said.

SM-3s intercept ballistic missiles when they reach their highest point outside of the atmosphere and then PAC-3 missiles are used to finish off the missiles that have escaped SM-3 attacks.

The use of ballistic missile defence systems symbolizes a shift in Japan's defence policy with North Korea posing a renewed threat and the higher occurrence of militant acts, especially in Asia.

The Japanese navy plans to conduct the first SM-3 missile tests in Hawaii by March 2008 to prepare for operation of the ballistic missile defence systems.

The agency is also seeking a 46.5 percent increase for anti-guerrilla strategies to 38.1 billion yen.

In addition, the military wants to upgrade telecommunications networks and intelligence systems for better integration of command lines, database sharing and information gathering and analysis. To fund this improvement, the agency is seeking a 64.4 percent increase to 247.9 billion yen.

But to offset the higher spending in such areas as missile defence and intelligence, the army and air force will cut back on the number of conventional tanks and fighter jets while the navy will not ask for the purchase of escort vessels for the first time since the end of World War Two.

Faced by increasing suicides among service people, the defence agency is also seeking a 41.9 percent rise in spending to improve mental health to 44 million yen.

Some 31 members of Japan's military, called the Self-Defence Forces, killed themselves between April and July this year, compared with 75 for the entire year to March 2004 and a record 78 for the year to March 2003.

Tuesday was the deadline for all government agencies to submit their budget requests. The cabinet will now compile a state budget proposal by year end and send it to parliament in January for approval.

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