Kyodo News: “Likely Pressure for Additional Increase”
“Expected Pressure on Defense Company Deals in Florida and Texas”
“Ishiba Expected to Explain Significant Contribution Already Made”, ‘[Reporter Yang Ji-yoon, Edaily] Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to have a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump on the 7th (local time), and Kyodo News reported on the 6th that it is almost certain that the U.S. will demand an increase in defense costs.’,
Kyodo News cited a U.S. government official on the 5th, stating that President Trump is likely to pressure Prime Minister Ishiba to increase Japan’s defense spending in their meeting on the 7th. However, no specific figures were disclosed.
Another official mentioned that “the focus is particularly on the purchase of U.S.-made defense-related equipment.” There is a perspective that it would be desirable to make deals with defense industry companies located in Florida, where Trump’s private residence Mar-a-Lago is situated, and Texas, known for its strong Republican support base.
The second Trump administration aims to bolster defense cooperation with South Korea and Japan in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China, with whom the U.S. is in a hegemonic competition. It is also publicly pushing NATO member countries to increase their defense expenditures and is expected to strongly pressure Japan and South Korea for defense cost increases.
Kyodo News noted that “Prime Minister Ishiba is expected to explain the current situation of increasing defense spending to substantially strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities and will seek understanding that Japan has already fulfilled a significant portion of its share.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Time magazine last year, President Trump mentioned the need to increase the defense budget for U.S. troops in South Korea, referring to South Korea as a “rich country” and a “money machine,” and claimed that “if I were in the White House, South Korea would be paying $10 billion annually.” The $10 billion figure is over nine times the total amount of 1.5192 trillion won set for next year under the 12th Special Measures Agreement (SMA) between South Korea and the U.S., reached last October.