New Takaichi Cabinet Faces Defense-Related Challenges

Tokyo, Sept. 18 (Jiji Press)--The revamped cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to accelerate debates on strengthening the country's defense capabilities, with the government planning to update its three key national security-related documents by year-end.

As further increases in defense spending may be inevitable, the focus will be on the size of the defense budget and financial resources.

China and Russia are stepping up their military activities around Japan, prompting Tokyo to speed up work to strengthen deterrence.

The government earmarked about 11 trillion yen in defense budget in fiscal 2025, achieving its goal of raising the proportion of defense spending to gross domestic product to 2 pct two years ahead of schedule.

With the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump urging U.S. allies to increase the proportion to 3.5 pct, however, the Takaichi government faces a challenge of how it should mention the matter in the security documents through the update.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]