Japan said the Trump administration did not directly ask it to hike its defense budget to 5% of GDP and denied that the demand had prompted the postponement of a key bilateral security meeting. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/23/japan/politics/japan-denies-us-demand-over-defense-spending/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #usjapanrelations #us #defense