Senior LDP lawmaker visits Taiwan, saying more military spending needed amid China threat

Japan needs to increase its military spending in the face of the "grim reality" of the threat from China and North Korea, a senior member of the nation's ruling Liberal Democratic Party said on Sunday during a visit to Taiwan.

It is the first visit to Taiwan by a top member of Japan’s ruling party in 19 years, a trip that comes as Tokyo prepares a hefty boost in military spending to counter threats from countries like China.

Although Chinese-claimed and democratically governed Taiwan and Japan do not have formal diplomatic ties, they have close unofficial relations and both share concerns about China, especially amid an increase in its military moves.

Koichi Hagiuda, the LDP's policy chief and a former industry minister, said during a visit to Taipei that since World War II, Japan has "walked the path of peace" and that path will not change in the future.

"However, just reciting the word peace is of course not enough for our peace to be protected," he told a forum on Japan-Taiwan relations.

On Saturday, Hagiuda met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who pledged to deepen security cooperation with Japan to ensure freedom in the Indo-Pacific.

"We have seen in recent years Taiwan-Japan relations have become ever closer," she said.

"In the future, Taiwan will continue to deepen cooperation with Japan in various fields such as security and work together to ensure the freedom, openness and stability of the Indo-Pacific region."

As Japan prepares next year's budget, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has already announced plans to lift defense spending to an amount equivalent to 2% of gross domestic product within five years, from 1% now.

That would take Japan's annual defense budget to more than ¥11 trillion ($80.55 billion) from ¥5.4 trillion currently, giving the country the world's third-largest military budget after the United States and China at their current levels.

Hagiuda pointed to China's massive increase in military spending, as well as North Korean missile tests, as reasons for Japan to raise its defense budget. "In the face of such a grim reality, half measures have no meaning at all," he said.

Japan's defense capabilities are necessary to protect lives and peace and must be developed immediately, not within five years, he added. "It's important to show clearly that we have sufficient capacity to make any would-be aggressor think twice."

The LDP frequently sends lawmakers to Taiwan to push back at efforts by China to isolate it. Kishida has warned that Taiwan is at the front line of the standoff between China and the U.S., and a problem in the Taiwan Strait would have enormous consequences for Japan.

Beijing claims the island as part of its territory to be taken by force if necessary, though Tsai insists it is already a de facto nation deserving broader recognition.

Hagiuda’s visit comes at a challenging time for the Taiwan leader, whose Democratic Progressive Party last month suffered its worst loss in local elections since its founding in 1986. That defeat sets up a more contentious presidential race focused on rising tensions with China in 2024, when Tsai leaves office due to term limits.

China staged military drills near Taiwan in August to express anger at a visit to Taipei by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, including launching five missiles into the sea close to Okinawa, within Japan's exclusive economic zone.

Japan hosts major U.S. military bases, including in Okinawa, a short flight from Taiwan, which would be crucial for any U.S. support during a Chinese attack.

The U.S. is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, though there is ambiguity about whether it would send forces to help Taiwan in a war with China.

Addressing a think tank in Taiwan last December, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan and the U.S. could not stand by if China attacked Taiwan, and Beijing needs to understand that.