GDP Ratio of Defense Costs Not Priority: Japan's Hayashi

Tokyo, March 5 (Jiji Press)--Raising the ratio of defense spending to gross domestic product is not a top priority in Japan's efforts to boost its defense expenditures, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Wednesday.

"What's important is the substance of our defense capabilities," Hayashi told a news conference. "It's not that the amount and the GDP ratio are put before everything else."

In a statement for a U.S. Senate committee hearing, Elbridge Colby, nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump for undersecretary of defense for policy, urged Japan on Tuesday to raise its defense spending to at least 3 pct of its GDP, higher than the Asian country's target of 2 pct for fiscal 2027.

"Our country will constantly examine its measures to reinforce deterrence and response capabilities and will steadily strengthen its defense capabilities drastically," Hayashi also said.

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