China said Thursday Japan should be more transparent with its military budget, urging Tokyo to explain the real intention of its expanding defense spending.

Japan has been increasing its defense spending for years, sparking concerns among its neighbors and the international community, Ministry of Defense spokesperson Yang Yujun told a monthly press conference on Thursday.

Japan approved on Tuesday a record 5.05-trillion yen ($41.9 billion) military budget for 2016, a 1.5 percent increase from 2015, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

This is the fourth consecutive year that Japan has increased its defense budget, Xinhua reported.

The defense budget will ease constraints on its military and also allow Japanese troops to defend its foreign allies, including the US, for the first time since World War II, USA Today reported on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, Japan's controversial new security laws that allow its troops to fight overseas even if there is no direct threat to Japan or its people took effect. Experts previously told the Global Times that the laws could deepen distrust and increase friction between the two countries.

At the same time Yang blasted Japan for criticizing China's normal military spending increase.

Yang said the budget covered the building up of national defense and will help safeguard national sovereignty and security.

China's 2016 defense budget has been placed at 954.3 billion yuan ($147 billion), a 7.6 percent increase from last year. The increase was the lowest in six years, Xinhua reported.

China's defense budget must be approved by the country's top legislature, the National People's Congress, Yang said, stressing that China has no "invisible" defense spending.

The increase will make the world's second largest economy also the second largest defense spender, both next to the US which, in the exact words of US President Barack Obama, spends more on military "than the next eight nations combined."