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Hegseth welcomes Japan's arms spending increase, says US-Japan alliance key to deter China
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....egseth welcomes Japan's arms spending increase, says US-Japan alliance key to deter China<BR>PTI News<BR>Dated:- 29-10-2025<BR>PTI<BR>Tokyo, Oct 29 (AP) US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday welcomed Japan's determination to accelerate its ongoing military buildup and defence spending. During a visit to Japan, Hegseth said he hopes to see those pledges implemented as soon as possible, n....
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....oting China's increasingly assertive military activity. “The threats we face are real, and they are urgent. China's unprecedented military buildup and its aggressive military actions speak for themselves,” he said. “Make no mistake about it, our alliance is critical to deterring Chinese military aggression, to responding to regional contingencies, and keeping our countries safe." Hegseth....
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.... said he was “glad” to see Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi — speaking alongside US President Donald Trump this week — make a commitment to increase Japan's defence spending, calling it “wonderful”. He said the US government had not demanded Japan's spending increase. His comment comes a day after Takaichi, who became prime minister only last week, explained to Trump during t....
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....heir first summit that her government will raise Japan's defence spending to 2% of its gross national product by March, two years ahead of initially planned. Japan also plans to revise its ongoing national security strategy several years ahead of schedule. “It's an important step forward, and one that we hope would be implemented and believe will be as soon as possible,” Hegseth told a joint....
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.... news conference after holding talks with Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi. “The result, through our shared strength, will deter threats." “We're going to invest now and invest quickly while we still have time,” Hegseth said. Koizumi welcomed the agreement between the two governments to move up deliveries of US-made Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) though he di....
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....d not give further details. Japan is seeking to create a more self-sufficient military as a deterrence against China's increasingly assertive military activity in the region, and has concentrated on defense buildup on its southwestern islands. Japan also has concerns about the rising tensions caused by North Korea and Russia. Japan has already moved up a planned deployment of its medium and lo....
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....ng-range missiles such as Tomahawk and Japanese-made Tupe-12 anti-ship missiles. These efforts mark a historic shift from Japan's longstanding policy of limiting use of force to self-defence only under a pacifist Constitution written after World War II. It made a major break from that policy under the 2022 security strategy that calls for more offensive roles for Japan's Self-Defence Forces an....
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....d easing restrictions on arms exports. The Takaichi government is also seeking to further relax weapons transfers. (AP) SCY SCY<BR> News - Press release - PIB....