FOCUS: Ukraine war puts spotlight on defense budget hike in Japan election

With Russia's war on Ukraine setting alarm bells ringing in Japan about an assertive China, the defense budget has become one of the key issues in the House of Councillors election on July 10.Polls show that the public is split on an increase in defense spending with a Kyodo News survey conducted from Sunday to Tuesday showing 47.8 percent of voters think the budget should be expanded to 2 percent or higher of the gross domestic product as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has suggested, while 45.8 percent want spending to stay as it is or cut.But defense experts warn that the government …READ FULL ARTICLE