On last trip as US top diplomat, Antony Blinken tells his Japanese counterpart he also came to Japan on his 1st trip in 2021
Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya Tuesday hosted outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tokyo for talks amid tensions over the Biden administration's decision to block the acquisition of US Steel by Japanese Nippon Steel.
The two attended a working lunch besides holding talks on bilateral ties and the regional situation.
On his last trip as the US secretary of state, Blinken told Iwaya that he also paid his first trip as the top diplomat to Japan in 2021.
"This allyship, I believe, it's actually stronger than it's ever been," Blinken said.
Iwaya said: "Looking ahead, I am committed to elevating Japan-US alliance to new heights."
Reflecting on the importance of their bilateral ties, Blinken said he visited Japan seven times over the last four years and "21 times to the Indo-Pacific region," a statement by the US State Department read.
Blinken's trip to Japan, which hosts more than 50,000 American soldiers under a bilateral defense pact, came at least two weeks ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House.
“Even though we're in political transition (in Washington) the world doesn't stop. It doesn't wait for our transitions. There is much on our common agenda that it's important that we're working on," Blinken told his Japanese counterpart.
Later, Blinken also met with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa, and National Security Advisor Akiba Takao.
He was accompanied by White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
The trip to Japan by the top US officials came after President Joe Biden blocked the sale of US Steel to Japanese giant Nippon Steel.
Ishiba called Biden's move to block $14.1 billion acquisition as "perplexing" and warned the US of potential repercussions for bilateral trade.
The Nippon Steel Corp. CEO Eiji Hashimoto Tuesday also criticized Biden's decision to block the acquisition, calling it "politically motivated."
"A review of the deal by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States was not properly conducted due to President Biden's illegal intervention," said Hashimoto in Tokyo. "We can never accept this."
