U.S. presses Japan to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP: media

The U.S. government has pressed Japan to raise its defense spending to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a demand that will likely prompt Tokyo to cancel a planned high-level meeting with Washington, Kyodo News reported Saturday, citing a diplomatic source.

Washington's defense spending request will likely lead Japan to cancel a planned meeting of the countries' foreign and defense chiefs scheduled in Washington, the report said.

The two-plus-two security talks would have been the first since Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump took office in October and January, respectively, it added.

Meanwhile, according to the Financial Times, Tokyo called off the July 1 meeting after the U.S. abruptly demanded Japan raise its defense spending significantly.

The request was made in recent weeks by Elbridge Colby, U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, who had previously pushed Japan to increase its defense spending to 3 percent of its GDP, the newspaper has reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

In 2022, after Trump's first term, Japan decided to double its annual defense budget to 2 percent of GDP by 2027, which marked a major shift in defense policy for a country with a pacifist constitution.

However, Trump continues to complain that the U.S.-Japan security treaty is one-sided, with his administration apparently planning to ask Tokyo to pay more for U.S. troops based in the country.