Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and his finance and defense ministers have agreed on the scale of the next five-year defense budget.

Kishida met with Finance Minister Suzuki Shunichi and Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu on Monday. They agreed to work to secure 43 trillion yen, or about 319 billion dollars, for defense spending between fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2027. That's a 50-percent increase over the current five-year budget.

Last week, Kishida instructed ministers to raise the annual defense and other related budgets to two percent of the country's gross domestic product in fiscal 2027.

The Defense Ministry initially demanded 48 trillion yen, citing the need to boost the nation's defense capabilities.

The Finance Ministry, meanwhile, initially asked the government to keep it under around 35 trillion yen to maintain fiscal health.

Government officials said they will explore ways to fund the budget increase, with tax revenue and other expenses in mind. The officials seek to come up with a comprehensive blueprint by year-end in coordination with the ruling parties.

Earlier, Kishida met with Yamaguchi Natsuo, the head of Komeito which forms a ruling coalition along with Liberal Democratic Party, which Kishida heads. They agreed on a plan for the total defense budget and its funding to be finalized by a council led by their deputies.