Story highlights Japan defense spending focuses on threats from China and North Korea

Defense budget is about 1% of gross domestic product

(CNN) Casting a wary eye to threats from its west, Japan will invest billions of dollars in new submarines, ships and stealth fighter aircraft under a record defense budget approved by the Cabinet on Thursday.

The $44 billion (5.1 trillion yen) Defense Ministry spending plan puts a focus on defending the Senkaku Islands, the chain in the East China Sea administered by Japan but also claimed by China, which calls them the Diaoyus.

The budget includes billions of yen for six new submarines equipped with improved sensor technology that could also prove useful against Chinese challenges.

The subs can "deal with attacks against the islets," the budget says.

Analysts consider the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's submarine fleet to be one of its core strengths, with its focus on a specific mission -- defense.

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