Japan reportedly said Tuesday that President Trump assured leaders that he is committed to a major military treaty between the two nations, despite a report that he has privately expressed a desire to withdraw from it.
“The thing reported in the media you mentioned does not exist,” chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters, according to Reuters.
“We have received confirmation from the U.S. president it is incompatible with the U.S. government policy,” he added.
Bloomberg, citing unidentified sources, reported Monday that Trump believes the arrangement is one-sided because it requires the U.S. defend Japan if attacked but does not hold Tokyo to the same standard. He is also reportedly dissatisfied with plans to relocate the U.S. military base in Okinawa.
The pact commits to the U.S. to defending Japan after it renounced the right to wage war after World War Two. In exchange, Japan provides the U.S. military bases, including Okinawa, the largest concentration of U.S. Marines outside the United States.
Withdrawing from the agreement could lead to a major drawdown of U.S. presence in Asia as China builds up its own military.
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Japan insists that Trump is committed to major military treaty despite reports https://t.co/bom2KynqCt pic.twitter.com/2Zm89g2BF1
— The Hill (@thehill) June 25, 2019
I remind that Trump's been saying the USA needs to dump Japan — one of America's closest allies — ever since he got back from the USSR in the summer of 1987.
Donnie has zero self-discipline yet stays relentlessly on message there.
— John Schindler (@20committee) June 25, 2019
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