Japan must spend more on defence, urges US ambassador

Japan needs to increase its defence budget to keep pace with the United States and Asian neighbours China and South Korea, the US ambassador to Japan, John Thomas Schieffer, has said.

This fiscal year, Japan's Ministry of Defence has requested a budget of JPY4.8 trillion (USD46 billion): a decrease of 0.8 per cent in actual spending. If approved, military expenditure would represent less than 1 per cent of GDP: a trend that is set to continue for a number of years under the country's long-standing defence spending policy.

In contrast, the US - Japan's key strategic ally - has sharply increased spending since 2001 to reach this year's USD696 billion, while China and South Korea have also seen double-digit defence budget increases in recent years.

In a 20 May speech at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan - the transcript of which was published on the website of the US Embassy in Tokyo - Schieffer said: "A lot of people in this neighbourhood are spending a lot more money on defence and yet the Japanese are not."

He added: "We believe that Japan should consider the benefits of increasing its own defence spending to make a greater, not lesser, contribution to its own security.

Image: Japanese Self Defence Force Komatsu KU50W armoured vehicle in Basra (Jane's/Patrick Allen) 204 of 454 words