Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi Tells Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary of Intention to Increase Japan’s Defense Budget during Meeting in Tokyo

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, October 29, 2025

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi held talks with visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Defense Ministry in Ichigaya, Tokyo, on Wednesday morning.

Koizumi appears to have told Hegseth that he intends to implement measures to boost Japan’s defensive capabilities, including increasing the defense budget. They also discussed strengthening the deterrent power of the Japan-U.S. alliance in response to the increasingly intense security environment in the Indo-Pacific region.

Koizumi and Hegseth first met on Tuesday when they joined Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump while they were visiting U.S. troops on the USS George Washington at the U.S. Naval Base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. However, their meeting on Wednesday morning represented their first formal talks.

Takaichi told Trump during their talks on Tuesday that she would work to increase Japan’s defense budget. Based on this, Koizumi and Hegseth exchanged views on Japan’s efforts to reinforce its defense capabilities.

Ahead of their talks, Koizumi told reporters on Tuesday, “I’d like to clearly communicate [to Hegseth] that we will strengthen our country’s defense capabilities on our own initiative and that we are determined to take responsibility for peace and security in the region.”

Takaichi has announced that she will revise three security-related documents, including the National Security Strategy, ahead of schedule. Koizumi apparently also told Hegseth that the ministry has already kicked off discussions on how to revise these documents with the establishment of the Promotion Headquarter for Transformation of Defense Capabilities.