U.S. Ambassador to Japan Emmanuel gave an exclusive interview with NHK ahead of the Japan-U.S. summit meeting and welcomed Prime Minister Kishida's decision to increase the defense budget. He expressed his recognition that he would invite him to hold a summit meeting.
In the interview, Ambassador Emmanuel commented on three documents, including the "National Security Strategy" that the Japanese government decided last month, "The U.S. government appreciates the bold and courageous decisions made by Japan. The strategy document has been updated. Not only did we do it, but we also provided a budget to back it up.”
On top of that, he said, "Prime Minister Kishida's budgetary measures are one of the reasons why President Biden strongly wanted to invite Prime Minister Kishida to the White House early in 2023." He indicated that he would hold a summit meeting to support the decision.
Regarding the increase in defense spending, there are discussions in Japan over financial resources, etc., but the Biden administration will praise Prime Minister Kishida's decision at the White House to promote the implementation of the increase and create a strong Japan-US alliance. It seems that there is also an aim to do so.
On the other hand, when asked whether the two leaders would discuss an emergency in Taiwan at this meeting, he said, "I can't answer directly, but I can say that there are discussions about measures to avoid the situation. We do not allow unilateral changes to the status quo regarding Taiwan, and the focus is on how to maintain the status quo and prevent opportunities to change the status quo."