Japan insists on independent defense buildup
“The security environment surround(ing) Japan is perhaps the most challenging and severe and complex in the post-war history … I have stressed in the past … buildup of defense capability should be conducted by Japan's initiative based on the basic attitude that a nation should defend itself,” Motegi Toshimitsu Motegi said during a news conference in Tokyo.
His remarks follow the US strategy document, which outlines the Trump administration’s foreign and security policy priorities and encourages allies, including Japan, to increase defense spending. The document urges countries such as Japan and South Korea to boost capabilities “necessary to deter adversaries and protect the First Island Chain,” referring to the chain of islands that includes Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
Regarding Japan’s defense budget, Motegi stated: “Neither monetary amount or percentage of GDP and other numbers should not be treated as a given.” He added, “So, in order for Japan to fundamentally strengthen its defense capabilities with a sense of ownership, it is to front-load to this fiscal year measures to achieve 2% defense spending as a percentage of GDP, which is debated in its national security strategy.”
Newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had pledged during her first policy speech on October 24 to raise defense spending to 2% of the country’s GDP by next year.
Japan, a longstanding US ally in the Asia-Pacific, currently hosts over 50,000 US troops along with multiple military bases and weaponry.
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