Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

In a dramatic announcement three days after she was sworn in, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said her government will ensure that Japan’s defence spending would increase to 2% of its GDP by March 2026, two years ahead of schedule, even as she pledged support for “security partnerships” like the Quad, which includes India. Ms. Takaichi, who said the government’s first priority is to tackle inflation and boost fiscal spending, was addressing the Japanese Parliament, or Diet, in an inaugural speech about her agenda in office.

Ms. Takaichi, the country’s first woman Prime Minister, also responded on Friday to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s congratulatory message on her appointment, saying she “looks forward” to promoting the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

“The free, open, and stable international order with which we have become familiar is being significantly shaken by historical shifts in the balance of power and intensifying geopolitical competition,” Ms. Takaichi said, citing Russia, China and North Korea as “serious concerns” and promising to deepen Japan’s “multilateral security consultations” involving the U.S., South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, and the Quad.

In an interview to The Hindu, Assistant Minister and Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Toshihiro Kitamura said India was a “unique” country for its leadership of the Global South, and that Ms. Takaichi was committed to following former PM Shinzo Abe’s lead on the Indo-Pacific.

Crucial partner

“In order to promote the main pillar of the Japanese diplomacy, a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, India is a crucial partner. Prime Minister Takaichi is fully committed to promote further cooperation with India,” Mr. Kitamura said.

In the parliament speech, Ms. Takaichi also ordered a review of Japan’s National Security, Strategic and Defence plans that included the commitment on raising defence expenditure.

Japan’s GDP last year was about $4 trillion (591 trillion Yen), and according to the National Security Strategy documents issued in 2022, defence spending was due to reach 11 trillion Yen, or 2%, only by the end of the financial year in 2027. The announcement on defence spending and the Indo-Pacific is significant as it comes a day before Ms. Takaichi leaves for Malaysia where she will meet with counterparts from ASEAN countries on October 26, and then will return to prepare for U.S. President Donald Trump’s three-day visit to Japan beginning October 27.

Ms. Takaichi promised to elevate the Japan-U.S. relationship to “even greater heights”. It remains to be seen whether Ms. Takaichi will also raise the Quad and scheduling the Summit due to be held in India later this year, which has been stalled due to India-U.S. tensions on trade issues.

Ms. Takaichi called Japan’s population decline its “biggest problem”, and struck a sharp note on immigration, suggesting controls on foreign nationals working in the country, including restrictions on land acquisition by them.

“First, to clarify, PM Takaichi is not anti-immigrant or anti-migration,” said Mr. Kitamura, responding to question about the concerns. “The Japanese population is declining, and we need foreign workforce to support, maintain and revitalise our economy,” he said. PM Takaichi has appointed US-born Minister for Economic Security Kimi Onoda also as the “Minister in charge of a Society of Well-Ordered and Harmonious Coexistence with Foreign Nationals” to reflect the priority.

“As regards to cooperation on skilling and workforce exchanges with India, the truth is that Japan does not have sufficient talent, particularly in IT and Science related industries, as India does,” Mr. Kitamura added, referring to an “Action Plan” launched by PM Modi and former PM Shigeru Ishiba to promote 500,000 workforce exchanges over the next 5 years, including 50,000 skilled personnel and potential talents from India to Japan. “Prime Minister Takaichi will promote the agreement [India and Japan] have made,” he said.

Ms. Takaichi gave the parliament address after appointing her Cabinet, which includes several faces familiar to New Delhi. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi was a minister in the Shinzo Abe cabinet (2017-19), while Internal Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi was the Foreign Minister (2021-23), under former PM Fumio Kishida, and travelled to Delhi for the G20 and Quad Foreign Minister’s meeting. Meanwhile, 44-year-old Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is the son of former Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi, who travelled to India in 2005 to reset ties, set off strategic talks and launched the practice of annual summits with PM Manmohan Singh.

(The correspondent is in Japan at the invitation of the Japanese Foreign Ministry)

Published – October 24, 2025 11:29 pm IST