Japan needs to commit to increasing its defense spending for the long-term due to its proximity to an aggressive Russia, an ambitious China and an unpredictable North Korea armed with nuclear missiles, a senior observer of Tokyo’s security policy said this week. “Japan will continue to increase its defense budget” to at least 2 percent of gross domestic product over the next five years, said analyst Hiroyaki Akita said an event at Center for Strategic and International Studies. This increase will hold even if the government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida would fall, Akita said. He did not expect Japan … Continue reading Heightened Western Pacific Tensions Will Push Japan to Spend More on Defense, Says Panel