Japan PM Ishiba says focus for defence budget should not be a numerical target

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday that it was important to build up the necessary defence budget for Japan, while stressing that a numerical target for the budget should not be prioritised.

“We shouldn’t be focusing on a numerical target for defense budget such as the size relative to GDP,” Ishiba told a press conference following media reports that President Donald Trump’s administration was demanding that its Asian allies, including Japan, spend 5% of GDP on defence.

But it’s also “natural to coordinate with our ally, the United States,” in building up the defense budget, he said.

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Toby Chopra)