Japan-U.S. Summit Likely to Be Focused on Defense: Hagerty

   Washington, Feb. 6 (Jiji Press)--U.S. Sen. William Hagerty said Thursday that the strengthening of Japan's defense capabilities is expected to be key topic of discussions at Friday's Japan-U.S. summit meeting.
   "I fully expect the conversation between Prime Minister (Shigeru) Ishiba and President (Donald) Trump to be very much focused on defense and national security," the republican senator said at an event hosted by a U.S. think tank, expressing hope for improved interoperability between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military.
   Hagerty, who served as U.S. ambassador to Japan during the first Trump administration, said he "wouldn't be surprised" if Trump asked Japan to boost defense spending to 3 pct or more of its gross domestic product.
   Also at the event, Hagerty showed expectations for Japan's cooperation in the energy field, including in the development of U.S. liquefied natural gas, saying, "What we have is the opportunity to significantly displace Russian LNG with U.S. LNG."
   Touching on the United States' trade deficit with Japan, he said he expects "a tough set of discussions between close friends and partners like Japan on the terms of how do we get to a more reciprocal relationship."

(2025/02/07-11:30)

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