Latest news with #USJapanAlliance
NHK
4 days ago
- Business
- NHK
US ambassador to Japan: Tariff talks won't damage bilateral alliance
US Ambassador to Japan George Glass has stressed that the alliance between Tokyo and Washington is firm and will not be undermined by the tariff negotiations. Glass gave a speech at an event in Tokyo on Friday. Regarding the tariff talks, he said: "I know there are some who would look at our current trade negotiations and see trouble ahead of this great alliance. But nothing could be further from the truth." He noted that the alliance is "greater than any one set of trade talks or defense negotiations." Regarding the increase in China's activities around Taiwan and in the South China Sea, Glass said that "deterring aggression by Communist China is key to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific." The ambassador added, "That's why we need to be vigilant on every front and in every sector." Glass indicated that the US wants Japan to continue to bolster its defense capabilities.
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- General
- Bloomberg
Japan's Biggest Fear Isn't China or North Korea. It's the US.
The US-Japan alliance has never been more important or stronger. And rarely has it faced greater uncertainties or dangers. That's the paradoxical takeaway from my trip last week to Tokyo, where I spoke to government and private-sector audiences about the state of the world. Japan faces growing threats in its neighborhood, from a bellicose China and a potentially provocative North Korea. But the state of America was the foremost worry of nearly everyone I met.
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
South Korea's new President Lee to restart talks with North, bolster ties with US and Japan
South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung vowed on Wednesday to restart dormant talks with North Korea and bolster a trilateral partnership with the United States and Japan, as he laid out key policy goals for his single, five-year term. Advertisement Lee, who rose from childhood poverty to become South Korea's leading liberal politician vowing to fight inequality and corruption, formally began his term earlier on Wednesday, hours after winning a snap election that was triggered in April by the removal of then president Yoon Suk-yeol over his ill-fated imposition of martial law late last year. In his inaugural address at the National Assembly, Lee said his government would deal with North Korean nuclear threats and its potential military aggressions with 'strong deterrence' based on the solid South Korea-US military alliance. But he said he would 'open a communication channel with North Korea and establish peace on the Korean peninsula through talks and cooperation'. He said he would pursue pragmatic diplomacy with neighbouring countries and boost trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo cooperation based on the robust South Korea-US alliance. 'Through pragmatic diplomacy based on national interests, we will turn the crisis posed by the major shift in global economic and security landscapes into an opportunity to maximise our national interests,' Lee said. South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung and his wife Kim Hye-kyung after attending the presidential inauguration at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE It was unclear whether Lee's election would cause any major, immediate shift in South Korea's foreign policy. Lee, previously accused by critics of tilting towards China and North Korea and away from the US and Japan, has recently repeatedly stressed South Korea's alliance with the US as the foundation of its foreign policy and avoided any contentious remarks that would raise questions on his views on the US and Japan.
Arab News
7 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
South Korea's new President Lee vows to pursue talks with North and bolster ties with US and Japan
SEOUL: South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung vowed Wednesday to restart dormant talks with North Korea and bolster a trilateral partnership with the US and Japan, as he laid out key policy goals for his single, five-year who rose from childhood poverty to become South Korea's leading liberal politician vowing to fight inequality and corruption, formally began his term earlier Wednesday, hours after winning a snap election that was triggered in April by the removal of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol over his ill-fated imposition of martial law late last his inaugural address at the National Assembly, Lee said that his government will deal with North Korean nuclear threats and its potential military aggressions with 'strong deterrence' based on the solid South Korea-US military alliance. But he said he would 'open a communication channel with North Korea and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula through talks and cooperation.'He said he'll pursue pragmatic diplomacy with neighboring countries and boost trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo cooperation based on the robust South Korea-US alliance.'Through pragmatic diplomacy based on national interests, we will turn the crisis posed by the major shift in global economic and security landscapes into an opportunity to maximize our national interests,' Lee and economic challenges lie aheadIt was unclear whether Lee's election would cause any major, immediate shift in South Korea's foreign policy. Lee, previously accused by critics of tilting toward China and North Korea and away from the US and Japan, has recently repeatedly stressed South Korea's alliance with the US as the foundation of its foreign policy and avoided any contentious remarks that would raise questions on his views on the US and Japan.'We'll have to now see if the pressures of office will cause Lee Jae-myung to govern from the center — at least when it comes to matters of national security and the alliance with the United States,' said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International toughest external challenges awaiting Lee are US President Donald Trump's tariff policy and North Korea's expanding military partnerships with Russia. But experts earlier said whoever becomes president can't do much to secure major progress in South Korea's favor on those his inauguration speech, Lee didn't directly mention trade issues with the USUS and Japan reactThe US and Japan said they congratulated Lee's election and expressed their commitments to developing three-way Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he wants to hold summit talks with Lee 'as early as possible,' saying he hopes to further promote bilateral ties, both public and commercial. The US State Department said that Seoul and Washington share 'an ironclad commitment' to the alliance grounded in their mutual defense treaty, shared values and deep economic unclear how North Korea would react to Lee's speech, as it has shunned any talks with South Korea since 2019. North Korea in recent years has supplied weapons and troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine, and South Korea, the US and their partners suspect Russia might in return transfer high-tech technologies to North Korea to help it perfect its nuclear weapons Tass news agency said Wednesday that one of President Vladimir Putin's top security officials, Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, has arrived in Pyongyang for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in the latest sign of the countries' alignment over Putin's war in said revitalizing a slowing domestic economy would be his top priority and that his government would immediately launch an emergency task force to wage a 'head-on battle' against the threats of recession. He also promised more aggressive government spending to help spur economic Korea's central bank last week cut its key interest rate and sharply lowered its growth outlook for 2025 to 0.8 percent, as it moved to counter Trump's tariff hikes and weak domestic demand worsened by recent political Korea still faces political divideLee also called for unity to address the country's stark political divide deepened after Yoon's martial law debacle, saying that he will 'answer the people's solemn call to let hope bloom over deep and painful wounds.' Lee still promised a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding Yoon's martial law imposition, describing it as a 'rebellion that seized people's sovereignty with arms.'Yoon and some of his top military and police officers already stand trial on high-stakes rebellion charges in connection with martial law. Lee's push to bring those involved in Yoon's martial law stunt accountable has subsequently caused speculations among his opponents that he would launch political revenge against Yoon associates and senior prosecutors whom he previously accused of fabricating evidence to initiate criminal charges against faces five trials on corruption and other allegations, but experts say those trials will likely stop during his term because the South Korean constitution gives a sitting president immunity from most criminal also reiterated his campaign vows to reduce inequality and pledged to address the imbalance between the greater Seoul capital area and less developed regions. He said that 'the polarization fueled by inequality is now hindering further growth.'Lee's term began immediately without the usual two-month transition period after the National Election Commission formally confirmed his election victory.
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Global trade chaos threatens South Korea's ‘survival' says Lee Jae-myung in inauguration speech
South Korea's new president, Lee Jae-myung, has warned that rapid changes in the global order and rising protectionism pose a threat to his country's survival, as he promised to pursue 'dialogue and cooperation' with North Korea. 'The rapid changes in the global order such as rising protectionism and supply chain restructuring pose a threat to our very survival,' Lee said in an inaugural address, in an apparent reference to the global trade chaos sparked by US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs. In the speech made just hours after he was declared winner of Tuesday's presidential election, Lee said he would bolster a trilateral partnership with the US and Japan. He said his government would deal with potential North Korean aggressions with 'a strong deterrence' based on the solid South Korea-US military alliance. But he would also leave the door open for dialogue with North Korea and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. Lee, who rose from childhood poverty to become South Korea's leading liberal politician vowing to fight inequality and corruption, won the election on Tuesday that was triggered by the removal of former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his ill-fated imposition of martial law late last year. Lee's term began immediately, without the usual two-month transition period after the National Election Commission formally confirmed his victory on Wednesday morning. In a telephone call with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Kim Myung-soo, Lee asked the military to closely monitor North Korean moves and maintain a solid readiness based on the combined South Korea-US military alliance, according to local TV footage. Lee later visited the national cemetery in Seoul to pay his respects to the late Korean leaders, patriots and war dead who are buried there. Lee assumes office with a bulging in-tray, from a deepening economic slump and global trade war, to mounting concerns over military ties between nuclear-armed North Korea and Russia. Just hours after Lee took office, South Korea's crucial steel and aluminium exports were set to be hit by steep US levies of 50%, after Trump announced a rise in the tariffs imposed by his administration last week. With Reuters, Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press
