WASHINGTON — 

 A senior member of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party visited Taiwan on Sunday and said Japan needed to increase military spending in the face of the "stern reality" of threats from China and North Korea.


Although Taiwan, which China claims to have a democratic rule, has no formal diplomatic ties with Japan, it has close unofficial ties and both sides have concerns about China, particularly its growing military activity near the two countries.


Rep. Koichi Hagiuda, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's Political Survey and former Minister of Industry, said during his visit to Taipei that since World War II, Japan has been "walking the road of peace" and this road will not change in the future.


"However, mere reciting the word 'peace' is certainly not enough to protect our peace," Hagiuda told a forum on Japan-Taiwan relations.


As Japan prepares next year's budget, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced plans to boost defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product from the current 1% within five years.


That would boost Japan's annual defense budget to more than 11 trillion yen ($80.55 billion) from the current 5.4 trillion yen, making Japan the world's third-biggest military budget behind the current levels of the United States and China.


Hagiuda Koichi pointed out that China's substantial increase in military spending and North Korea's missile tests are the reasons for Japan's increase in the defense budget.


"In the face of such a stark reality, there is no point in quitting halfway."


Japan's defense capabilities are necessary to protect life and peace and must be developed immediately, not within five years, he added.


"It's important to make it clear that we have enough capabilities to make any potential aggressor think twice."


In August, China held military exercises near Taiwan to express its anger over a visit to Taipei by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The exercise included firing five missiles into the sea near Okinawa, Japan's exclusive economic zone.


Japan hosts major U.S. military bases, including Okinawa. Okinawa's proximity to Taiwan is crucial to any U.S. support in the event of a Chinese attack.


By law, the U.S. is obliged to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, although it is unclear whether the U.S. would send troops to help Taiwan in a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.


The late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a speech at a Taiwanese think tank in December that Japan and the United States would not stand idly by if China attacked Taiwan, and Beijing needed to understand that.