Japan on Friday denied U.S. President Joe Biden's claim that he convinced Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to boost Tokyo's defense spending, saying it had objected to the comments in a rare public airing of a disagreement with its security ally.
The denial came after Biden said at a campaign reception in California earlier this week that Japan has increased its defense expenditures "exponentially" as a result of his persuasion of Kishida during their past three talks.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Tokyo has told Washington that Biden's remarks were "misleading" as Japan decided to expand the defense budget on its own, adding the president's intention was "unclear."
Speaking at a news conference, Matsuno, the top government spokesman, said the U.S. side now shares the Japanese view, but he refused to clarify through what diplomatic channels the exchanges took place.
In December, Kishida's government pledged to almost double Japan's defense budget by the end of March 2028 to around 2 percent of gross domestic product, on par with NATO members, amid mounting military threats from neighbors such as China and North Korea.
Biden was quoted by the White House as saying at the reception on Tuesday that Japan had not bolstered its defense expenditures "for a long, long time," but Kishida "convinced himself that he had to do something different" after talking with him "on three different occasions."
Biden, who is seeking re-election next year, cited the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May as one of the three opportunities, but the Japanese government had already decided to beef up the country's defense budget by that time.
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