Overview
- Delivering her first Diet policy speech, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to reach 2% of GDP in defense spending by March, two years earlier than previously planned.
- She said core security documents will be revised on an accelerated timetable, with a new strategy package ready by the end of 2026.
- The Liberal Democratic Party’s break with Komeito and alignment with the Japan Innovation Party creates policy space for a tougher security stance, but the government remains short of secure majorities and must court opposition support for budgets.
- Takaichi begins her diplomatic rollout with an ASEAN stop in Malaysia, a planned call with U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of his Oct. 27–29 visit to Tokyo, and outreach to South Korea, with Trump expected by many observers to push for higher spending and U.S. arms purchases.
- Beijing urged Tokyo to exercise caution on military matters, as Takaichi also pitched an economic package at home that includes scrapping the provisional gasoline tax and raising the nontaxable income threshold to ease inflation pressures.