Ahead of the Japan-U.S. summit meeting to be held in Washington, the capital of the United States, this week, the ambassadors of both countries attended an event hosted by a think tank on the 8th. He emphasized that this will be an important step in further deepening the relationship.
Of these, Ambassador Shigeo Yamada said that Japan and the United States have worked together in the face of major global challenges, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East. "We have developed into a true partner. I sincerely hope that Prime Minister Kishida's visit will impress upon the international community that the relationship between our two countries is strong and has great future potential."
Furthermore, with China in mind, U.S. Ambassador Emanuel stated that the U.S. is changing its strategy to one that emphasizes strengthening multilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region in addition to bilateral relations with allies, and added, ``This strategy Japan exists as something that does not change within its structure.''
On the other hand, Ambassador Emanuel said that President Biden's negative opinion regarding Nippon Steel's plan to acquire US Steel, a major American steel manufacturer, may damage the relationship between the two countries. When asked about this, he claimed that similar situations had taken place in the past when Japanese companies were the targets of takeover plans by foreign investment funds.
He emphasized that there would be no major impact, saying, ``The relationship between our two countries is deeper, stronger, and more important than a single private transaction.''