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news Scmp World 2026-05-15

Is Trump's Pressure Driving Japan's Radical Military Spending Hike?

Japan's ruling party is considering a significant increase in defense spending, potentially up to 5% of GDP. This move is influenced by pressure from US President Donald Trump and escalating security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region.


Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is weighing a sharp rise in defence spending as pressure from US President Donald Trump and worsening security conditions in the Indo-Pacific force Tokyo to reconsider how much it must do to protect itself. The party is expected to debate raising outlays to as much as 5 per cent of GDP, a level that would keep Japan in line with many Nato member states and mark another major shift for a country that long kept defence spending close to 1 per cent of.....

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