Ishiba Denies Specific Promise on Defense Spending Increase

   Tokyo, Feb. 13 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that he did not make a specific promise about Japan's plan to increase its defense spending when he met with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month.
   Ishiba and Trump held their first summit late last week and issued a joint statement saying that "the United States welcomed Japan's commitment...to fundamentally reinforcing its defense capabilities beyond FY 2027."
   Over the joint statement, Ishiba was asked by Koichi Takemasa of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan at a parliamentary meeting on Thursday whether the prime minister promised to increase Japan's defense spending to 3 pct of its gross domestic product.
   The joint statement "did not mean that (Japan) made a promise regarding the scale of its defense capabilities," Ishiba said in response.
   "Japan will decide its defense spending on its own, based on the prevailing security environment," Ishiba also said.

(2025/02/13-20:03)

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