Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is weighing a sharp rise in defence spending as pressure from US President Donald Trump and worsening security conditions in the Indo-Pacific force Tokyo to reconsider how much it must do to protect itself. The party is expected to debate raising outlays to as much as 5 per cent of GDP, a level that would keep Japan in line with many Nato member states and mark another major shift for a country that long kept defence spending close to 1 per cent of...
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi appears to have sidestepped a potentially embarrassing political landmine by publicly backing a close aide accused in media reports of running a smear campaign against her rivals, while stopping short of flatly denying his possible role. The allegations, first reported in weekly tabloid news magazine Shukan Bunshun, claim that members of her own camp produced videos critical of rival candidates during last year’s Liberal Democratic Party leadership race,...