Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba wants to separate negotiations on tough U.S. tariffs from security-related discussions ¡ª but disentangling the two will prove a challenge as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to voice long-held complaints about the alliance¡¯s fairness.
Ishiba has repeatedly said over the last week that the two issues must be dealt with separately, following Trump¡¯s latest gripes that the 65-year-old security alliance is ¡°one-sided.¡±
¡°Tariff negotiations are tariff negotiations. National security discussions are national security discussions,¡± Ishiba told lawmakers on Monday. ¡°If we don¡¯t keep them separate, I believe we risk distorting the essence of each issue.¡±
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