Main opposition CDP decides against no-confidence motion for Ishiba

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has decided to forgo a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet in the ongoing ordinary session of the parliament, which ends on Sunday.
CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda conveyed the decision Thursday to Seiji Maehara, co-head of Nippon Ishin no Kai.
The CDP chief said that there should not be a political vacuum amid ongoing tariff negotiations between the Japanese and U.S. governments. He also mentioned heightened tensions in the Middle East.

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Japan Times

an hour ago

• Japan Times

Japan scraps ‘two-plus-two' meeting with U.S. over defense spending demand, report says

Japan has canceled a high-level meeting with the U.S. set for July following a demand that Tokyo spend even more on defense, according to a media report. Tokyo abruptly scrapped annual 'two-plus-two' security talks involving the allies' top diplomats and defense chiefs less than two weeks before the meeting after the U.S. asked Japan to hike its defense budget to 3.5% of gross domestic product, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing unidentified sources. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya had been scheduled to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington on July 1 for the talks. Asked about the report at a news conference Friday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the U.S. had 'no comment on that at this point.' The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The report said that the U.S. had initially asked Japan to spend 3% of GDP on defense, though Pentagon officials told The Japan Times earlier that it had set a 'global standard' for Tokyo and other U.S. allies to spend 5% of GDP on defense, in the first official confirmation that Washington is asking Tokyo to pump up its defense budget even further. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear, though the Pentagon has been gripped by upheaval, including high-level dismissals and scandals in recent months under Hegseth. The Financial Times said the new, higher demand was made in recent weeks by Elbridge Colby, the Defense Department's No. 3 official, sparking anger in Tokyo. Colby said during his confirmation hearing in March that Japan 'should be spending at least 3% of GDP on defense as soon as possible,' citing the growing military threat from China and North Korea. Ostensibly pacifist Japan has in recent years undertaken a dramatic transformation of its security policy, including a five-year plan to ramp up defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2027. But pouring even more cash into defense coffers would come with significant political costs as the government focuses on domestic economic priorities and amid growing uncertainty over how to secure funds. Japan is currently getting far less bang for its buck as inflation and the yen's diminishing value erode its plans for the country's largest military buildup since World War II. The Financial Times report, citing a senior Japanese official, said the decision to cancel the meeting was also related to the July 20 Upper House election in which the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to lose seats. In a statement given to The Japan Times on Friday, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell pointed to a majority of NATO nations that have signed on to U.S. requests to boost defense spending to the 5% level, saying that 'European allies are now setting the global standard for our alliances, especially in Asia, which is 5% of GDP spending on defense.' Asked whether Parnell's remarks apply specifically to Japan, a U.S. defense official said it 'is inclusive for all of our allies across the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan.' Nakatani said in April that defense spending was within striking distance of the 2% target, at 1.8% of GDP. A Defense Ministry panel of experts, meanwhile, is reportedly set to recommend that the government consider hiking defense spending beyond 2%, and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said that future budgets "may top 2%, if needed,' depending on the security environment. Ishiba and senior Japanese officials, however, have said that Japan will not be told how much to spend, reiterating that what is most important is the substance of strengthened defense capabilities — not arbitrary figures. The issue of defense spending among U.S. allies and partners will be at the top of the agenda at next week's NATO leaders' summit in The Hague, which Ishiba is also set to attend. Tensions over security issues and trade have grown since Trump took office, with the U.S. president railing against his county's alliance with Japan, calling the partnership — which turns 65 this year — unfair and 'one-sided,' while threatening Tokyo and other allies and partners with onerous tariffs on key sectors such as automobiles and steel.

NHK

2 hours ago

• NHK

Philippines accuses Chinese Coast Guard of firing water cannons

Officials in the Philippines accuse the Chinese Coast Guard of firing water cannon at one of their vessels. They say the incident took place near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. Manila made the announcement on Friday. It says four ships of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources were blocked by a Chinese Coast Guard vessel while supplying fuel to Philippine fishing boats. Officials released a video showing what appears to be a Chinese ship targeting the Philippine vessels with water cannon. They describe China's act as illegal, and say the lives of the crew members were put in danger. A spokesperson for the Chinese Coast Guard responded by saying the Philippine vessels violated international and Chinese law. He also accused them of undermining China's sovereignty. Scarborough shoal lies about 200 kilometers west of Luzon Island, within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, but is effectively controlled by China. Last year, Beijing unilaterally revised its territorial baselines to include the area.

Asahi Shimbun

3 hours ago

• Asahi Shimbun

Japan scraps U.S. meeting after Washington demands more defense spending--FT

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gives his opening speech at the beginning of the meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at his office in Tokyo on March 30. (Pool via REUTERS/ File Photo) WASHINGTON--Japan has canceled a regular high-level meeting with its key ally the United States after the Trump administration demanded it spend more on defense, the Financial Times reported on Friday. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had been expected to meet their Japanese counterparts in Washington on July 1 for annual 2+2 security talks. But Tokyo scrapped the meeting after the U.S. side asked Japan to boost defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP, higher than an earlier request of 3 percent, the paper cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter, including two officials in Tokyo, as saying. A U.S. official who did not want to be identified confirmed Japan had "postponed" the talks but said the decision was made several weeks ago. The source did not cite a reason. A non-government source familiar with the issue said he had also heard Japan had pulled out of the meeting, but not the reason for it doing so. U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said she had no comment on the FT report when asked about it at regular briefing, and the Pentagon also had no immediate comment. Japan's embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. The Financial Times said the new higher spending demand was made in recent weeks by Elbridge Colby, the third-most senior Pentagon official, who has also recently upset another key U.S. ally in the Indo-Pacific by launching a review of a project to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. In March, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that other nations do not decide Japan's defense budget after Colby called in his nomination hearing to be under secretary of defense for policy for Tokyo to spend more to counter China. Japan and other U.S. allies have been engaged in difficult trade talks with the United States over U.S. President Donald Trump's worldwide tariff offensive. The FT said the decision to cancel the July 1 meeting was also related to Japan's July 20 Upper House elections, at which the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to suffer a loss of seats. It comes ahead of a meeting of the U.S.-led NATO alliance in Europe next week, at which Trump is expected to press his demand that European allies boost their defense spending to 5 percent of GDP.