After years of pressure to increase defense spending, Japan announced plans to do so just ahead of a trip by President Donald Trump to the region next week.
‘We are firmly preparing for President Trump’s visit,’ Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said.
Trump is expected to meet with Japan’s new hawkish Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office on Tuesday and leads a new right-wing coalition. Trump already congratulated the new prime minister on becoming Japan’s first female top leader.
Motegi said the new government hoped to strengthen U.S. relations during the visit and build a personal relationship with the Trump administration.
Defense analysts have long called on Japan to increase its defense spending, which stands at 1% of GDP. The nation is currently undergoing a five-year military buildup with aims at 2% defense spending by 2027. Takachi plans to move the 2027 target up to this year, according to a Kyodo News report.
During the meeting with Trump, Takaichi is expected to face pressure to raise defense spending even further to match NATO’s 5% target.
Next week Trump is set to travel to Asia for meetings in Japan, Malaysia and South Korea, where he will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The meetings come as U.S.-China relations have turned frigid, with Beijing cutting off exports of key critical minerals and the U.S. cutting off tariff negotiations.
Takaichi, who as a young woman spent time interning in the U.S. Congress, has expressed concern about Japan’s reliance on the U.S., but signaled intentions to work closely with Trump. She took office on a recent populist wave in Japan similar to the MAGA movement.
The U.S. has spooked some Japanese officials with Trump’s suggestion that Japan should pay for U.S. troops in the region. Around 60,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed in Japan, making it the largest foreign host of U.S. forces.
Adding to those concerns, a trade framework in July placed a 15% tariff on imported Japanese goods, with higher rates for steel, aluminum and auto parts.
Takaichi has taken a hawkish approach to China and declared ‘Japan is back,’ while promising to more strictly regulate immigration and tourism and suggesting Japan’s textbooks should revise how they teach World War II to reflect a more nationalistic view.
The shift marks a dramatic moment for Japan’s postwar defense policy, which has traditionally emphasized restraint under its pacifist constitution. A push toward rearmament under Takaichi would cement a broader regional trend toward military expansion, as China, South Korea and Taiwan all race to modernize their forces amid growing instability in the Indo-Pacific.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
