00:00So why do you think Japan has approved its largest ever defense budget at this particular time?
00:08A number of factors led to this proposal.
00:14One, frankly, is pressure from the Trump administration.
00:18The first Trump administration put tremendous pressure on Japan,
00:22as well as other security partners in Asia, like South Korea and the Philippines,
00:26to significantly spend more on their own defense.
00:31That doesn't mean that the Trump administration is walking away from its treaty obligations,
00:36although there's always lots of criticism and speculation in that regard.
00:41But the Trump administration has made very clear,
00:45we have a treaty obligation, but we expect you to do your part.
00:49The other factors are also quite straightforward, which is both China and North Korea.
00:56present an ever-increasing risk to the security of Japan.
01:01And it's understandable, despite the rhetoric that comes out of China or North Korea,
01:06it's understandable that Japan is going to respond to that by spending more on their own defense.
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