Biden again takes credit for pushing Japan to boost defense spending

U.S. President Joe Biden has again taken credit for Japan’s historic 2022 defense budget hike, saying in an interview Friday that he had pushed Tokyo to boost its spending.

Speaking in a prime-time interview with ABC News intended to mitigate the fallout from a poor debate performance last week that has raised questions about his reelection bid, Biden listed off, in rapid-fire, a number of claimed accomplishments under his administration.

“I’m the guy that put NATO together, the future — no one thought I could expand it,” he said. “I’m the guy that shut (Russian President Vladimir) Putin down. No one thought it could happen. I’m the guy that put together the South Pacific initiative with AUKUS. I’m the guy that got 50 nations out of — not only Europe, outside of Europe as well — to help Ukraine. I’m the guy that got the Japanese to expand their budget.”

The embattled U.S. leader’s comments about Japan were expected to furrow brows in Tokyo, which objected to similar remarks Biden made just over a year ago.

In June last year, Biden told a campaign event that he had convinced Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in 2022 to go through with a five year-plan to boost defense spending by more than 50% over five years to around ¥43 trillion ($267 billion).

“I convinced him and he convinced himself that he had to do something different. Japan has increased its military budget exponentially,” Biden said at the time. “And guess what? When is the last time you heard Japan being interested in what’s happening in the middle of Europe in a war?”

Tokyo was quick to protest the remarks, and Biden walked them back days later, telling another event that Kishida “didn’t need my convincing as much as he’d already decided.”

Biden and his team have hailed the U.S.-Japan alliance, with administration officials repeatedly saying that ties are better than ever. He has also touted his role in helping warm chilly ties between Tokyo and Seoul, as well as the United States’ growing focus on the Indo-Pacific region amid its rivalry with China.

The 81-year-old U.S. president has been known for his off-the-cuff remarks and tendency to make verbal slip-ups and gaffes, including multiple occasions where he has stirred confusion on the fate of Taiwan were it to be attacked — a key strategic concern of Tokyo’s.

Asked if the United States would be willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan, during a May 2022 summit meeting with Kishida, Biden answered “Yes,” calling it “a commitment we made.” The White House later walked those comments back — denying that the president had broken with decades of U.S. policy on the self-ruled island.