U.S. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Wednesday urged Japan to move swiftly on its plan to raise defence spending but said he had not made any specific requests regarding the scale of the increase during talks with his Japanese counterpart.
Hegseth's remarks came a day after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told visiting U.S. President Donald Trump that she was determined to strengthen Japan’s defence capabilities and increase its military budget.
“It’s an important step forward, and we hope it will be implemented and believe it will be as soon as possible,” Hegseth said at a joint press conference with Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi following their meeting in Tokyo.
In her policy address last week, Takaichi said the government intends to raise defence spending to 2% of gross domestic product in the fiscal year ending March 2026, up from around 1.8% at present. This would be two years ahead of schedule, though still below NATO’s new target of 5% of GDP by 2035.
Asked whether he had proposed a specific numerical goal, Hegseth replied, “There were certainly no demands placed on Japan from the United States.”
In June, the Financial Times reported that Japan had cancelled an annual high-level meeting with Washington after the Trump administration pressed Tokyo to spend more on defence.
Japan views its current security environment as the most serious since the end of the Second World War, citing regional instability driven by China’s military expansion and North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes.
“Make no mistake — our alliance is vital to deterring Chinese military aggression,” Hegseth said.
Japan already hosts the largest concentration of U.S. forces stationed overseas, including an aircraft carrier, a Marine expeditionary unit, and numerous fighter jets.
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In a sweeping diplomatic push in Baku, Georgia and Azerbaijan have signed a landmark package of energy and transport agreements, cementing a partnership set to shape the South Caucasus corridor for decades to come.
The first-ever “WUF13 NGO Forum” in the history of the World Urban Forum (WUF) was held on 19 May 2026 at Azerbaijan’s initiative in Baku.
Germany will deploy a Patriot air-defence battery to Türkiye in the coming weeks as part of a NATO mission aimed at strengthening the alliance’s south-eastern flank, German officials have said.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for closer security coordination between Central Asia and China, warning that expanding trade and infrastructure links are exposing the region to increasingly sophisticated cross-border threats.
The World Urban Forum (WUF13) continues in Baku, Azerbaijan on 18 May, addressing the global housing crisis. The day’s agenda includes the official opening press conference, the WUF13 Urban Expo opening and a ministerial dialogue on the Nairobi Declaration to advance Africa's urban agenda.
United Nations World Urban Forum 13 continues in Baku, Azerbaijan on 19 May with sessions and roundtable discussions focused on strengthening dialogue and advancing cooperation in urban development. Organisers say there are nearly 3 billion people globally who face some form of housing inadequacy.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he had paused a planned attack on Iran after appeals from the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, allowing negotiations to continue over a possible deal to end the conflict.
A 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck China’s Guangxi region early on Monday, killing two people and forcing more than 7,000 residents in Liuzhou to evacuate as rescue efforts continued.
Azerbaijan and Georgia have agreed to resume daily passenger train services on the Baku-Tbilisi-Baku route from 26 May, 2026, marking a major step in restoring regional rail connectivity after services were suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Germany will deploy a Patriot air-defence battery to Türkiye in the coming weeks as part of a NATO mission aimed at strengthening the alliance’s south-eastern flank, German officials have said.
Estonia said on Tuesday (19 May) that a NATO fighter jet shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone over its territory, in the latest reported airspace violation in the region amid ongoing Ukrainian strikes against Russia.
Sweden has agreed to buy four naval frigates from France’s Naval Group in a deal worth more than $4 billion, as Stockholm moves to strengthen its defence capabilities in the Baltic Sea, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday.
Spanish police said on Tuesday they had detained a 25-year-old man suspected of killing his two parents and injuring four other people, including his son, in a shooting in the southern city of El Ejido in Almeria province overnight.
European Union negotiators are expected to agree on Tuesday (19 May) on legislation removing import duties on U.S. industrial goods, in a move aimed at implementing last year’s trade agreement with the United States and avoiding higher tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump.
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