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US Secretary of Defense pete hegseth welcomed on wednesday JapanDetermined to accelerate its ongoing military buildup and defense spending.
During a visit to Japan, Hegseth said he hoped those promises would be implemented as soon as possible ChinaIncreasingly assertive military activity.
He said, “The threats we face are real and they are urgent. China’s unprecedented military buildup and its aggressive military actions speak for themselves.” “Make no mistake about it, our alliance is critical to deterring Chinese military aggression, responding to regional contingencies, and keeping our countries safe.”
Hegseth said he was “delighted” to see the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi – speaking with the US President donald trump This week – commits to increasing Japan’s defense spending, calling it “amazing.”
He said that the US government has not demanded Japan to increase spending.
His comments came a day after Takachi, who became prime minister just last week, explained to Trump during their first summit that his government would boost Japan’s defense spending to 2% of its gross national product by March, two years earlier than initially planned. Japan also plans to revise its ongoing national security strategy several years ahead of schedule.
“This is an important step, and we hope it will be implemented and are confident it will be implemented as soon as possible,” Hegseth said at a joint news conference after talks with Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi. “The outcome, through our shared strength, will stop the threats.”
“We’re going to invest now and invest fast while we still have time,” Hegseth said.
Koizumi welcomed the agreement between the two governments to increase deliveries of US-made advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, or AMRAAM, although he did not provide further details.
Japan is trying to build a more self-reliant military as a deterrent against China’s increasingly aggressive military activity in the region, and has focused on defense construction on its southwestern islands. Japan is also worried about the increasing tension between North Korea and Russia.
Japan has already increased its planned deployment of medium- and long-range missiles such as Tomahawk and Japanese-made Tuapse-12 anti-ship missiles.
The efforts mark a historic shift in Japan’s longstanding policy of limiting the use of force only to self-defense under the pacifist constitution written after World War II.
It marked a major break from that policy under the 2022 Security Strategy that calls for more offensive roles for the Japan Self-Defense Forces and an easing of restrictions on arms exports. The Takachi government is also demanding further relaxation of arms transfers.