Japanese Defense Chief Questions Chinas Military Spending Data

Japan’s defense minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, speaks at the 2026 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 31, 2026. IISSJapanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi questioned whether China’s official military-spending figures are factual, evidence-backed, and transparent, making public a concern long raised by U.S. and independent defense analysts about the limits of Beijing’s published budget data.When asked in a Bloomberg interview on June 17 about China’s military spending, Koizumi said transparency was the key issue.