Japan's ruling party pledged Thursday ahead of a House of Councillors election to "fundamentally" reinforce the country's defense capability and increase spending on it in the next five years, as Russia's war on Ukraine has raised calls for a more robust posture. The Liberal Democratic Party has in mind a target of roughly doubling the country's defense spending to 2 percent or more of gross domestic product, in line with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The goal is included in a package of pledges for the July 10 upper house election, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who heads the LD...
