Shigeru Ishiba, the Japanese Prime Minister (front row, front), bows after the revised 2025 fiscal year budget proposal was passed in the House of Representatives (lower house) on the 4th. (AFP News/Yonhap)
Elbridge Colby, a nominee for the U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary, recently argued that Japan should quickly raise its defense budget to 3% of its GDP. In response, on the 5th, Shigeru Ishiba stated, “Japan’s defense budget is determined by Japan.”
Prime Minister Ishiba, addressing the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors (upper house) when asked about Colby’s remarks by the opposition, said, “If necessary, we allocate the budget as a government and undergo parliamentary review. It is not decided by listening to the U.S. or any other country,” according to reports from Kyodo News and others.
Ishiba also mentioned that the scale of the defense budget results from accumulating various issues, and he does not intend to engage in “crude discussions about what percentage of GDP it should be” from the start. Jiro Hata, a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party who questioned Ishiba, agreed, asserting that rejecting forms of internal interference is a natural stance.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, also addressed Colby’s remarks in a press conference, stating, “Japan independently promotes fundamental defense enhancements based on our National Security Strategy,” emphasizing that the essence of defense capability is not about the amount or GDP ratio.
Hayashi noted that Japan’s defense-related expenses are projected to reach 2% of GDP by 2027, indicating that they will continue to steadily reinforce defense capabilities. This reaffirmed the government’s policy. In 2022, Japan revised its three key security documents, deciding to increase defense spending from the then GDP of 1% to 2% by the 2027 fiscal year (April 2027 to March 2028).
According to NHK and others, Colby stated in a written response to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on the 4th (local time) that Japan’s current defense budget increase plan is clearly insufficient and should be raised to 3% of GDP as soon as possible. During the same day’s hearing, Colby remarked, “Japan is very wealthy,” and questioned, “Why are they not spending proportional to the threats they face?”