Former Japan Minister Seeks ‘Substantial’ Defense Spending Hike
- Ruling party group proposes aiming for budget of 2% of GDP
- Onodera says Japan may face ‘harassment’ from Russia
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Japan needs a “substantial” increase in military spending next year, a former defense minister said, as he prepared to submit a ruling party research group’s national security proposals to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
“If you’re thinking of the NATO level of 2% in five years’ time, you will need a substantial initial budget request,” Itsunori Onodera, who heads the Liberal Democratic Party’s Research Commission on Security, said in an interview with Bloomberg News at his offices Tuesday.