Japan Pulls Out of Key U.S. Meeting After Trump’s Team Demands Bigger Defense Budget

You know things are getting tense when even close allies stop picking up the phone. Japan has abruptly canceled a major security meeting with the United States after the Trump administration pushed for a steep increase in Tokyo’s defense spending. The meeting known as the annual 2+2 talks was supposed to take place in Washington on July 1, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sitting down with their Japanese counterparts.

But according to the Financial Times, Japan backed out after the U.S. demanded defense spending be bumped up to 3.5% of Japan’s GDP higher than the already controversial 3% previously asked.

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Japanese officials weren’t having it. Sources familiar with the situation say the demand crossed a line, especially given Japan’s constitutional limits and domestic political pressures.

A U.S. official confirmed that Japan had postponed the meeting weeks ago but offered no explanation. When asked about the report, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce had no comment, and the Pentagon stayed silent as well.

For a relationship that’s long been seen as rock-solid in the Pacific, this move signals cracks and the pressure of Trump era diplomacy. With growing threats in the region from China and North Korea, missing moments like this could have consequences that echo far beyond the meeting room.

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