Tokyo | Japan denied a report that the US directly asked Tokyo to raise its defence spending to 3.5 per cent of annual gross domestic product, with its top government spokesman saying that the amount of spending was less important than how Japan raises its military capabilities.
“Regarding defence spending, there’s no truth to that,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference on Monday, when asked about a Financial Times report that a senior Pentagon official had told Japan to boost military spending.
