Japan cancelled a high-level meeting with the United States after the Trump administration abruptly asked Tokyo to increase its defence spending, The Financial Times reported on Friday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth were scheduled to meet Japanese Defence Minister General Nakatani and Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya in Washington on July 1. They were set to hold the annual 2+2 security dialogue.

But Tokyo cancelled the meeting after the US pushed for Japan to raise its defence budget to 3.5 per cent of GDP, up from an earlier request of 3 per cent. The Financial Times cited three people familiar with the discussions, including two officials based in Tokyo.

A senior Japanese official said the decision to cancel the July 1 meeting was also influenced by the upcoming upper house elections on July 20. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party was expected to lose seats in the vote.

A US government official told Reuters that Japan had “postponed” the meeting. The official said the decision had been made weeks earlier, without giving a reason. A separate non-government source also confirmed hearing that Japan would pull out of the talks, but said they were not aware of the reason.

The Financial Times reported that the heightened request for increased defence spending came in recent weeks from Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s third-ranking official. Colby had also recently raised tensions with another major US ally in the Indo-Pacific by initiating a review of AUKUS, the submarine deal with Australia.

Security tensions rose as Japan and other US allies entered tough trade negotiations with the United States. These talks followed President Donald Trump’s broader global tariff push.

While speaking at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue defence forum in Singapore last month, Hegseth urged Asia-Pacific allies to follow Europe’s lead in increasing defence budgets. He pointed to rising threats from China and North Korea in the region.

A defence official said, “The US is now playing hardball with allies in the Asia-Pacific.”

In March, Colby told the Senate during his confirmation hearing for Under Secretary of Defence for Policy that Japan should raise its defence spending. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba responded strongly. He said Tokyo, not foreign pressure, would determine Japan’s defence budget.