The U.S. Defense Department is urging Japan to boost its defense budget to more than 3.5% of gross domestic product, surpassing what Washington now calls the new NATO spending benchmark, Nikkei Asia reported. The push marks a significant escalation from Japan’s long-standing ceiling of roughly 1% of GDP and exceeds Tokyo’s own plan to reach 2% by 2027. Japanese officials have signaled the request would be difficult to meet given the country’s fiscal constraints and the political calculus ahead of this year’s upper house elections. Raising outlays to the level sought by the Pentagon would require tens of trillions of yen in additional annual spending at a time when public debt already exceeds 250% of GDP. The U.S. pressure comes as NATO members pledge to spend 5% of GDP on defense by 2035, with 3.5% devoted to core military capabilities. Tokyo is simultaneously accelerating a review of its National Defense Strategy and considering more than 100 billion yen ($670 million) in its fiscal-2026 budget for mass deployment of drones, underscoring the broader trend toward higher military expenditure worldwide.