Koizumi Conveys Defense Spending Plan to Hegseth

Tokyo, Oct. 29 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi conveyed his country’s plan to achieve its defense spending target two years ahead of schedule, during a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Tokyo on Wednesday. Japan will raise its defense spending to 2 pct of its gross domestic product by the end of the current fiscal year, instead of the originally planned fiscal 2027, Koizumi told Hegseth in their first meeting. He also said that Japan has begun a review of three security documents. Koizumi was appointed to the defense post in the cabinet of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi inaugurated last week. “We will strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance with unprecedented speed,” Koizumi told a joint press conference after the hourlong meeting. “It’s an important step forward, and the one that we hope would be implemented and believe will be as soon as possible,” Hegseth said, referring to the new defense spending target from Japan. Asked about specific numerical goals, Hegseth said, “There was certainly no demands placed on Japan from the United States.” The U.S. Defense Department has said that allies in Asia should spend 5 pct of GDP on defense as NATO allies have pledged to do so. Koizumi and Hegseth reaffirmed the importance of deepening multilateral defense cooperation among countries including Australia, South Korea and the Philippines in addition to Japan and the United States in an apparent effort to counter military threats from China. The two ministers agreed to promote defense equipment and technology cooperation, such as joint missile production. They also agreed to work closely to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air station in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]