The Japanese government expressed dissatisfaction with the statement of US President Joe Biden, who took credit for Tokyo’s decision to increase the defense budget.
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“Despite the fact that the true meaning of the mentioned statements by US President Biden is not fully known, we have brought Japan’s position that the decision to increase the defense budget was made on Japan’s own conclusions, and such (statements) may be misleading,” Hirokazu Matsuno, secretary general of the Japanese government, stressed at a press conference.
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A few days ago, the American president attended an event in California, where he touched on the topic of increasing Japan’s defense budget. Biden noted that he met with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida three times, without remembering the name of his position.
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“Are you aware that Japan hasn’t increased its military budget for a long, long time? And guess what? I met with the chairman…the president…the vice…excuse me, the leader of Japan, I think, at three different events, including including in Hiroshima. And he convinced …, I convinced him, and he convinced himself that he should do something different (from the past), “Biden said.
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The American leader also asked the audience to think about when “they heard about Tokyo being interested in what is happening in the center of Europe in the war and promoting assistance and support” to Ukraine.
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Japan adopted three key documents in mid-December last year, which indicated an increase in defense spending to a level of two percent of GDP by 2027.
