Koizumi and U.S. defense chief Hegseth agree to boost security cooperation

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has held telephone talks with his U.S. counterpart Pete Hegseth, with the two sides agreeing to further strengthen the capabilities of the U.S.-Japan alliance.

Friday’s call — the eighth time the two defense chiefs had held talks — came after Koizumi was reappointed to his post in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Cabinet reshuffle earlier this week.

Koizumi expressed a “strong sense of urgency” in boosting Japan’s defense capabilities as the Takaichi administration looks to revise the country’s three key national security documents by the end of this year, according to a readout of the call released by the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.

Koizumi highlighted his “exceptionally close communication” with Hegseth, and said the two defense chiefs had agreed to meet in person “in the near future.”

It was not clear if the two had discussed Takaichi’s scheduled meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump next week or other pressing issues between the allies, including a push by Washington to get Tokyo to spend more on defense.

Tokyo is reportedly considering a new midterm defense spending target of 3.5% of gross domestic product, a figure that would match that of NATO, South Korea and other U.S. allies.

The Defense Ministry’s budget request late last month hit nearly ¥9 trillion ($57.7 billion) for the next fiscal year — a figure likely to top ¥10 trillion once additions are made by the year-end following the security document revisions.

Any defense spending plan is expected to be included in the country’s revised National Security Strategy.

Japan is also in the middle of negotiations over host nation support for U.S. forces stationed in the country. During his first term, Trump is believed to have initially urged Tokyo to quadruple its support. Japan is concerned that the U.S. will again ask for a significant increase.

Koizumi told a regular news conference Friday that the revisions to the security documents “concerns not only our country but the entire region.” 

“With just over … three months remaining until the revision takes effect … there is very little time left. Furthermore, given the current security situation, there is absolutely no cause for optimism,” he said.