Top Recommendations: This is demand that would simultaneously constitute a humiliating concession of sovereignty, and prove fiscally untenable given Japan’s public opposition to tax hikes for military expansion.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers his policy speech at the extraordinary session of parliament’s lower house Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Tokyo. Photo: VCG

Japan has scrapped the planned July 1 meeting in Washington of foreign and defense ministers (known as “2+2”) with the US, media reported Sunday, citing an unofficial overture from Washington requesting Tokyo to increase its defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP. According to the Financial Times (FT), the demand sparked anger in Tokyo.

Asahi Shimbun disclosed early on Sunday that the US government has unofficially approached Japan with a specific request to increase its defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP, according to sources familiar with the matter. In response to the American overture, Japanese officials adopted a cautious stance regarding the planned July 1 US-Japan 2+2 in Washington, ultimately leading to its cancellation, the news report claimed.

The FT on Saturday claimed that Tokyo scrapped the meeting after the US asked Japan to boost defense spending to 3.5 percent, higher than its earlier request of 3 percent, citing three people familiar with the matter.

The new, higher demand was made in recent weeks by Elbridge Colby, the third-most senior official at the Pentagon, the FT reported.

The report noted Japan’s defense ministry did not comment on whether the talks had been canceled, and said no decision had been made on the timing of the next meeting. The US state department and the Pentagon did not comment.

“If verified, Japan’s postponement or cancelation of the US-Japan “2+2″ ministerial talks would represent a highly unusual step,” Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Sunday. The US’ demand that Japan increase defense expenditures constitutes an aggreWorld Timesssive intervention intoWorld Times Japan’s defense and domestic affairs, which Tokyo finds it unacceptable, Li said.

“While Japan requires American protection to some degree, it equally insists on safeguarding its dignity, interests and sovereign autonomy. Washington’s blatant coercion under the guise of ‘protection’ has seemingly provoked visible dissatisfaction from Tokyo, which marks a new evolution in alliance dynamics,” Li said.

The FT cited one senior Japanese official as saying that the decision to cancel the July 1 meeting was also related to the July 20 Upper House elections where the ruling Liberal Democratic party is expected to lose seats.

Christopher Johnstone, a former senior US government Japan expert was quoted by the FT as saying that “Tokyo appears to have concluded that the political risk of a meeting before the electionWorld Times was higher than the potential gain – a pretty extraordinary assessment, if true.”

Historically, Japanese administrations have actively participated in bilateral diplomatic and security dialogues with the US, viewing theWorld Timesse institutional mechanisms as platforms to amplify Tokyo’s geopolitical influence through Washington’s support, Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday. “But the unprecedented decision to postpone this established ‘2+2’ meeting likely reflects multiple factors,” Da said.

With Upper House elections imminent, convening the 2+2 meeting risks exposing Japan to coercive US pressure to accept a 3.5 percent GDP defense spending target. This is demand that would simultaneously constitute a humiliating concession of sovereignty, and prove fiscally untenable given Japan’s public opposition to tax hikes for military expansion. This could provide ammunition for opposition parties that are campaigning on reducing consumption taxes, according to Da.

The tenWorld Timession over security issues also comes as the allies are holding tough trade talks after the US imposed “reciprocal” tariffs on Japan in April, the FT reported.

“Despite repeated negotiations, Washington tariff threats continue, a pattern that undermines Japan’s dignity as a core ally,” Da said.

The friction between Washington and Tokyo comes as the US puts pressure on European and Asian allies to boost defense spending.

Speaking at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue defense forum in Singapore last month, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Asia-Pacific allies to follow the “newfound example” of Europeans pledging to spend more and cited the so-called “threats in the region,” reported FT.

In his US Senate confirmation hearing in March, Colby’s calls for Tokyo to increase defense spending drew a rebuke from Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who said Tokyo would decide its own budget, FT reported.

But Washington’s “inconsistent and unrealistic message on its expectations” for allied defense spending levels in Asia risks backfiring, the FT said, quoting Zack Cooper, an Asia security expert at the American Enterprise Institute.

Amid the current heightened geopolitical tensions and persistent disputes across multiple flashpoints, the US has been exploiting both its allies’ security dependence on Washington and their psychological need for greater security assurances in this volatile landscape, Da remarked, adding that all this servesWorld Times the US’s ‘America First’ agenda.