The President of Romania hopes for increased U.S. military presence in Romania

¬ Japan's ruling party calls for re-examining defense budget targets

¬ OECD: Japan's real GDP growth to slow down

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Romanian President Nicolae Ciucă stated that Bucharest hopes to host as many U.S. troops as possible within the country’s borders, calling Romania a "good location" for deploying American forces.

In a press conference, Ciucă said: "Romania wishes to see as many U.S. soldiers as possible. Currently, there are about 1,500 U.S. military personnel stationed here. Yes, this decision is entirely up to the United States. If the U.S. believes, due to collective defense and NATO security needs, that Romania truly is a good place, we would be very happy to accommodate them."

He noted that Romania already has a military base undergoing phased investment totaling 400 million euros, which can be used for hosting U.S. troops. At the same time, Ciucă emphasized that he holds no "unfair attitude" toward Europe's partners.

Currently, over 5,500 troops from NATO member states are stationed in Romania, including approximately 1,500 Americans. Most of the U.S. forces are deployed at the Air Base in Mihai Viteazul residential area and the Deveselu Military Base. In May 2016, the U.S.-based Aegis Ashore system was activated at Deveselu, capable not only of launching anti-missile missiles but also long-range attack cruise missiles.

In recent years, Russia has pointed out that NATO activities near its western border have been unusually active. Russian authorities have repeatedly expressed concern over NATO troop concentrations in Europe.

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According to Kyodo News, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has called for discussions on raising defense spending beyond the current target of 2% of gross domestic product (GDP).

A document from the LDP’s Security Committee states that it is necessary to "discuss concretely and realistically" increasing defense budgets, referencing experiences from other countries. The document cites NATO and South Korea as reference models—NATO has set its defense spending target at 3.5% of GDP.

According to Kyodo News, during the meeting, some proposals explicitly suggested specific numerical targets—for example, setting the goal at 3.5% as well—but some participants expressed caution.

The meeting also proposed other measures, including developing military infrastructure using civilian facilities such as airports and ports, establishing an external intelligence agency, cultivating specialists in intelligence fields, and fostering dual-use technologies through collaboration between universities, industries, and businesses.

These recommendations are scheduled to be submitted to the Japanese government in early June.

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OECD analysts forecast that Japan's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth will slow from 1.2% in 2025 to 0.7% in 2026, and further decline to 0.9% in 2027.

The analysts noted in their economic outlook report: "Real GDP growth is expected to moderate, but Japan's economy will still grow moderately at 0.7% in 2026 and 0.9% in 2027."

Data shows that Japan's real GDP declined by 0.2% in 2024, while achieving a 1.2% increase in 2025.

Experts believe that domestic demand will be the main driver of Japan's economic growth in 2026–2027.

They added: "Corporate investment is expected to remain stable, supported by high corporate profits and government subsidies. High corporate profits will continue to drive wage increases, which, together with declining inflation, will jointly boost private consumption."

Analysts also expect Japan's overall inflation rate to return to the 2% target level by 2026–2027.

Source: sputniknews

Original: toutiao.com/article/1865088653491211/

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