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Japan to cardinally bolster its defense capabilities, PM says

Corresponding plans have been supported by the US President, Fumio Kishida informed

TOKYO, May 23. /TASS/. Japanese authorities will radically strengthen the country’s defense capabilities, US President Joe Biden supports this decision, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a joint press conference following talks with the US leader on Monday.

"We intend to cardinally bolster the defense capabilities of our country. Corresponding plans have been supported by the US President," the prime minister emphasized.

"We are occupied with increasing our defensive power taking into account the situation around Taiwan," he noted.

In April, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party addressed the government with a proposal to consider the possibility of doubling the defense budget and getting it to 2% of GDP.

For the past several years, Japan has been increasing its defense spending which was frequently criticized by its neighbors. This fiscal year (began in April 2022), allocations for these purposes increased by about 50 bln yen compared to the previous year and amounted to 5.37 trln yen ($41.9 bln at the current exchange rate) which is a record high figure.

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