TOKYO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday stressed that Japan determines its defense budget by itself, dismissing a U.S. call to boost defense spending.

Japan determines its own defense budget and will not base its decision on the direction of any other country, Kyodo News cited Ishiba at a parliament meeting.

The remarks came after Elbridge Colby, tapped to be undersecretary of defense for policy of the Trump administration, said in a written statement that Japan should increase its defense spending to 3 percent of GDP.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi reaffirmed during a press conference on Wednesday that the Japanese government is working toward increasing defense-related spending to 2 percent of GDP by fiscal 2027.

He emphasized that the focus should be on the substance of defense capabilities rather than the amount.

Japan has set a goal outlined in its 2022 National Security Strategy of bringing defense spending to 2 percent of the GDP in fiscal 2027, after long maintaining an informal cap of around 1 percent under its war-renouncing Constitution. Enditem

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