ISTANBUL
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Wednesday said that Tokyo plans to prioritize the country’s defense reinforcements and revision of three key documents.
The three key documents include the National Security Strategy (NSS), the National Defense Strategy (NDS), and the Defense Buildup Program (DPD), approved by the former Kishida administration in December 2022, marking a major shift in the country’s post-war defense policy.
His remarks come as Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said US President Donald Trump will arrive in Japan on Monday for a three-day visit.
Trump will meet with Emperor Naruhito and newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during his visit.
“Such defense capability should not be focused just on the absolute amount or the ratio to GDP, but the defense capability itself,” Motegi told a news conference, a day after he was appointed as the foreign minister.
The Trump administration has been asking allies, including Japan, to raise their defense spending.
Tokyo will prioritize the “fundamental strengthening of our defense capabilities based on the national security strategy, and a review of the three key national security policy documents” will be part of the initiatives put forward, Motegi said.
Trump’s visit to Japan, one of the US’ oldest allies in the Asia-Pacific region since World War II, is the first time in nearly six years.
Japan hosts thousands of American soldiers besides military bases and weaponry.
– Trump’s Asia trip
Trump is embarking on a three-nation Asia tour later this week, with his first stop in Malaysia, where he will attend a summit of ASEAN, the Southeast Asian bloc.
The ASEAN summit begins on Oct. 26 and continues until Oct. 28 in Kuala Lumpur, where Trump is also expected to witness the peace accord signing between Cambodia and Thailand.
Later, the US president will fly to Japan, from where he will travel to South Korea for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Takaichi, who became Japan’s first female prime minister on Tuesday, will also visit Malaysia for the ASEAN summit as well as South Korea for the APEC summit.
Motegi, the newly appointed foreign minister of Japan, said the bilateral ties with South Korea are “only becoming increasingly important.”
During her inaugural news conference after being sworn in by the Japanese emperor on Tuesday night, the conservative Prime Minister Takaichi called South Korea “an important neighbor for Japan.”
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