Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, March 29

TOKYO -- Japan has included a record high defense spending in its budget enacted for the fiscal year 2024 starting April, in another move that runs counter to its pacifist constitutional stance.

The defense budget reached a historical high of 7.95 trillion yen (about 52.53 billion U.S. dollars), according to the national budget approved by the Japanese parliament on Thursday for fiscal 2024, which totaled 112.57