The government and ruling parties plan to begin full-scale discussions to boost the country's defense budget in the next fiscal year and beyond, after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told U.S. President Joe Biden during the pair's summit in Tokyo on Monday that Japan will secure "a substantial increase" in its defense budget.
The majority of ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers have called for a fundamental expansion of the defense budget, but the cautious stance of the LDP's junior coalition partner Komeito, as well as fiscal constraints, may impede the move.
