The nominee to be the Pentagon’s top Asia official has reiterated Washington’s demand that Japan further ramp up defense spending amid what it says are growing threats from China and North Korea.

“Japan has long underemphasized spending for its own defense, especially given the threats posed by China and the DPRK,” John Noh, U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick to be assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said in confirmation testimony presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.

“I believe Japan must build the capabilities necessary to enable a denial defense of its own archipelago and bolster collective defense in its region,” Noh added. “Japan must significantly increase investment in all categories to meet the threat posed by China and DPRK.”

Noh said Tokyo must plow more cash into capabilities such as long-range weapons, integrated air and missile defense and sea control and denial capabilities, which he said would help “provide a meaningful impact to strengthen deterrence in the region.”

In June, the Pentagon told The Japan Times that it was urging allies — including Japan — to spend 5% of gross domestic product on defense, which it called a “global standard.” The announcement was the first official confirmation that Washington is asking Tokyo to pump up its defense budget even further.

Japan has publicly denied that a specific figure has ever been broached, but Trump in April called the two countries’ alliance “one-sided” — remarks that echoed views from his first term, when he demanded Tokyo cough up more cash or risk the removal of U.S. troops.

Ostensibly pacifist Japan has in recent years undertaken a dramatic transformation of its security policy, including a five-year plan to ramp up defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2027. Boosting defense spending beyond this would face significant challenges — including uncertainty over how to secure funds for such a move.

Japanese officials, including outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, have emphasized a quality-over-quantity approach to defense spending, arguing that the content, not the figure, is what truly matters.

But with Trump set to make the first trip of his second term to Japan at the end of this month, these views may soon be put to the test. At a summit expected to be held around Oct. 28, Ishiba’s presumptive successor, new Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi, could face ramped-up pressure from Trump on the issue.