US-Japanese Economic Security Dialogue is 'Essential,' Japanese Lawmaker Says
Japanese lawmakers this week urged the Trump administration to continue engaging with allies on economic security issues and to not close off America from Japanese investment, saying Japanese companies will help grow American exports and reduce the U.S. trade deficit.
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Shinjiro Koizumi, member of the Japanese House of Representatives and the director of the Standing Committee on Economy, Trade and Industry, said he believes President Donald Trump “doesn't like multilateral frameworks.” But he said the two countries need to maintain talks to boost “private sector investment” and strengthen supply chains that both countries rely on.
“We need to think of the perspective of economic security, because when it comes to alliances or partnerships, you need to have confidence in your ability to build up your supply chains, and you need to have a better dialogue and cooperation than what we've had before, because it's very dangerous to rely too much on certain countries,” Koizumi said through a translator during an event this week hosted by the Center for Strategic & International Studies.
“It's very important to have cooperation between the U.S. and Japan,” he said, adding “that sort of dialogue is essential.”
Trump administration officials so far have signaled plans to pull back from certain multilateral dialogues and other discussions with allies, including export control talks with the EU and possibly with Japan (see 2503280039).
But Koizumi noted that one of the Trump administration's first meetings with foreign officials in January was with representatives from the Quad group, which includes Japan, Australia and India. “I think that we will continue to leverage that framework,” he said. “Even under the Trump administration, these multilateral arrangements, the quad being the example, and in some cases, minilateral frameworks, are things that we can continue to pursue.”
He specifically said Japan wants to work with the U.S. to continue pushing the EU and others to keep China top of mind. “We need to get the world more on the same page about China,” Koizumi said. The EU seems to specifically be prioritizing issues related to Russia and Ukraine, he said, but the U.S. and Japan must “also explain to Europe they must not forget about China. The U.S. and Japan could join together in that messaging. and there is a role for Japan to play and to work with the U.S. in that context.”
Koizumi also acknowledged Trump’s tariffs in recent weeks have put the EU and other nations in a “difficult situation” and are causing “lots of disruption,” which makes cooperation on China more challenging.
“Of course it is true that the Trump administration is creating some difficulties for the world,” he said. But “it is also clear who is pleased with these deteriorating relations.”
Itsunori Onodera, also a member of the Japanese House of Representatives and the country’s former defense minister, said the tariffs will hurt both Japan and the U.S. Instead of increasing duties on Japanese companies, the U.S. should instead welcome more Japanese investment, Koizumi said, noting that Japanese companies for years have manufactured and exported from the U.S., which has helped lower the U.S. trade deficit.
“For Japan to invest in the U.S., they need to be strong enough to invest. But with the Trump tariffs, Japanese companies could be weakened,” he said through a translator. “We hope that those in the U.S. and the Trump administration will think about this. … These Trump tariffs will not help the U.S.”
Koizumi proposed working with the U.S. to reform the U.N. Security Council, which has faced issues adopting certain sanctions resolutions because Russia is a member. Russia recently vetoed a U.N. Security Council proposal that would have extended the “panel of experts” that had been monitoring U.N. sanctions against North Korea (see 2410170003), and Koizumi said he’s concerned China could take similar steps to thwart a U.N. response to a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
“I don't believe that the Trump administration likes the U.N. as it is, and we also don't think that the security council is as good as it is,” he said. “For the healthy development of the international community, it would be good for the U.S. and Japan to take on the challenge of making new rules through the U.N., at the WTO, or other organizations.”